A Different Path Given
by SouPi
Summary: Orochimaru knocks Naruto unconcious, and when he wakes up, he finds himself in another world where the Fourth is still alive, people see him as a hero that he should be, and he has girls chasing after him. But is this really the reality that he wants?
1. My name is Uzumaki Naruto!

"Damn it! Let me go!" Naruto struggled to let the snake man release his vice-like grip around his body, arms prickling with goosebumps as the rough, long tongue touched his bare skin. The term- slimy snake- applied very well here. As struggle as he did, nothing seemed like it would work. Already he was feeling the prickling edges of despair.

Panic set in, and his trashing increased. Naruto's body was still unable to even budge an inch; the snake's tongue made firmly sure of that. Hate glared into the coal black eyes of the man before him, the Kyuubi tested again the seal, which imprisoned it. Naruto's red demonic eyes seemed to glow even more as untamed anger wanted to lash out, yet he was still in control. Although if this continued, he didn't know how long he would be able to maintain control.

"He, he, he. . . So the Nine-tails brat is still alive. . . " Orochimaru made a hand seal, as he brought Naruto closer, the Genin's eyes narrowed with rage. The whisker-like markings on the side of his face darkened even more, three solid black lines on each cheek, as the fine barrier between suppressed rage snapped. "When your emotions are heightened. . .the power of the Kyuubi overflows. . .Very interesting. . ." Orochimaru noted cleverly to himself, obviously pleased with the entire situation.

Things were playing out very much to his favor. The man smirked and lifted the blonde's orange jacket up, revealing his stomach- and the thing that cursed his life from the beginning- oily words smoothly coming out, dripping with smugness and confidence. "Oh my, the seal is visible. . ."

The snake-bastard's hand started to glow with heated chakra, still in that strange hand seal that Naruto didn't recognize. Naurto's breathing quickened to the point where he was gasping for air, his breaths choking him and his eyes started to water.

Was this going to be the end for him? To die in the middle of the Chuunin Exams? But he still had so much to do! What about being Hokage? His lifelong dream to prove to the village his worth; for their acknowledging his achievements, were they all going to be for nothing?

But then again. . . So what if he died? It was not like anyone cared about him. Maybe Iruka-sensei, but he had other people to take his place, like Konohamaru or some other lucky kid who'd get free ramen. And his team? Sure, they would fail this part of the exam... but they'd always get it next time. Sasuke didn't care about him, and Sakura-chan just loved Sasuke-bastard too much to notice him. Kakashi-sensei was just. . . Kakashi-sensei. . .

And his dreams? Being Hokage. . .

Maybe, just maybe life was worth it, but . . .

"Jitsuzai irekae no jutsu!"

Naruto couldn't but help but let a cry of pain. The bastard slammed his hand onto the seal for the Kyuubi, fire burning onto his flesh and bone, his insides twisting that way and that-torture in its purest form. He couldn't remember being in this much pain before. The edges of his vision tinged with white and everything was becoming hazy.

There's a point until a human being could take pain until their brain shuts down; being conscious would kill them. Being the vessel for a demon didn't come with any expeditions. It was a strange relief almost, one point when you feel like you're being burned alive, until like someone threw you into a pool of water. Naruto slumped over, before he lost everything, he heard Sakura-chan screaming, but already his brain had gone too far to distinguish what she was hysterical about.

In a moment of brief coherency, he found it terribly ironic that she cared for him after all- when he was about to die. His life really did suck- if only he'd been given a different life, a different path given. Another chance, but with better odds. It'd be nice if the whole world wasn't out to get him.

Then blissfully Naruto entered darkness, his mind finally at rest- no nightmares to haunt him, no angry stares, no more haunting looks, just rest.

--

--

When Naruto finally woke up, it took him a while to realize that he was in a bed, but not just any bed- a hospital bed. What about the exam? The snake-man who attacked them? Was his team all right? Were the exams over? What the hell was going on? A million questions whirled around his head, but he had the worst of headaches ever. What'd he do for some painkillers. . .

Groaning, the blonde sat up and eyed his surroundings, he was in a room that was too large to be used for solely himself, (Maybe he was the only patient around?) and various equipment was placed next to his side. He decided that he most definitely _did not_ deserve to be hooked up to the said so machines and immediately pulled out the plug. There was this satisfying feeling of watching the monitor blank out with a, 'bleep.'

It looked like half of a flower shop was here, a greenhouse with lilies, roses, and other colorful assortments arranged in vases or pots. The sweet scent of flowers made him sneeze once as he soon found out that being exposed to large amounts of pollen wasn't good for him.

Huge binds were closed on the single window that nearly doubled his size, as he could tell that it was daytime, sunlight peeking through the cracks like weeds in the pavement.

The walls were painted with a lovely color of light blue, and paintings of flowers, parks, and other happy things lined up the walls. A few chairs and couches were pushed against the wall to his right, and the only door was shut tight, maybe even locked.

Not that things like that ever stopped him before. Naruto swung himself out of bed, and wobbled slightly as his muscles were too taut from staying still. "Damn!" He all but fell over, making a whole bunch of noise as he pulled down a vase of flowers, crash and all.

"Oww!" He rubbed the tender spot, as a perplexed look crossed his face. "Aww man! Look at this!" Around him, there was a mess of water, flowers, and shards of what used to be a purple vase.

Immediately the door swung open and several ninjas came pouring in. About five or six circled him, all hidden by white porcelain masks that were designed to look like animals. Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine. These weren't just your ordinary shinobi... they were ANBU, the best of the best... and why the hell were they standing outside his door?

Before the genin could protest loudly about his predicament, a tall ANBU ninja with a dog mask scooped him up in his arms and gently placed him back on the bed. Two ANBU bent down and quickly cleared the mess without fuss- Naruto was at least expecting a scolding or something for his clumsiness at least.

"What the hell's going on?!" Finally frustrated of feeling like he was missing out on something, he did what anyone would do in that situation- he blurted out the question without thinking. As soon as he opened his mouth, a sudden chill made him tremble slightly. What was he thinking? These people were ANBU for God's sake, trained assassins, elite among the elite! _Good going moron_, the inner voice that sounded suspiciously like Sasuke mocked him.

He'd be lucky to get off with a slight warning!

The dog masked ANBU turned his head around so that he could size up the out-spoken blonde, behind the slit-like eyeholes Naruto could see the dim outline of a dark opal, light catching off the surface like a cat's eye. He cocked his head to the side, as he smoothed the sheets on Naruto's bed. "Well it seems that you're awake, that's good. Hokage-sama will be pleased."

The voice sounded so familiar, like he heard it somewhere, but he couldn't match the voice with the face.

Still confused as hell, Naruto shook his head. "Why the hell would the old man give a damn about me? I mean it's not like he cared before, believe it!" He scrunched his face into a pout, sticking his lower lip out and crossed his arms in a huff. Something was off, his ninja instincts were telling him.

You could practically see the eyebrows of the ANBU arch up under their masks, in danger of disappearing into their hair. Coughing once, the dog-mask ninja continued as if Naruto hadn't interrupted him. "Ahem, anyway. . . you were knocked out for quite a while you know. I think it was around three days."

"THREE DAYS?! WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT ABOUT THE EXAMS?!" A bomb literally exploded from Naruto's mouth, his vocal volume rising and it continued to get louder, until it was impossible to exactly hear him.

Several of the ANBU winced; the boy's voice was deafening. They shifted uncomfortably, looking shifty eyed at each other, as if they were unsure of how to act in this situation. They were trained assassins, top ninja, but there were somethings that you just can't teach to a shinobi, and childcare was one of the few on that list. For everything else, there's always some poor unsuspecting genin team out there somewhere to complete the dirty work for them.

The dog-mask shinobi merely shrugged, most likely used to this kind of behavior from little kids, and patted the Blonde's head affectionately. "It's all right Naruto, there's still time. They haven't started yet."

In the middle of his rant, Naruto froze, stopped on the word 'ramen'; no one knew how he had so quickly switched subjects while yelling about missing out on the most important ninja milestone of his life. "What? But. . .But. . ." He spluttered, clearly confused as ever. Sure, he wasn't the sharpest tool in the Kunai pouch, but clearly he was in the middle of the Chuunin Exams when he apparently 'fainted.' Unless there was a time-travel jutsu (even _he_ was pretty sure that didn't exist) things weren't adding up.

Could this possibly be a Genjutsu? If it was, then he was in deep trouble. Back at school, Genjutsu wasn't exactly his strong point.

A deep chuckle escaped from the dog-ANBU, as he shoved his hands into his pockets nonchalantly. "Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure that you'll pass with no problem." The blonde swore that he saw one eye close into a happy crescent moon. . .

"Kakashi-sensei?" He gaped at the ninja before him. "You-you!" There were at times where miracles seemed to exist, and this was one of those precious Kodak moments.

Uzumaki Naruto was at a loss for words.

A gloved hand reached for the mask and pulled it off, revealing the copy-nin, Hatake Kakashi, same as ever, with his headband slanted and covering his right eye, and the black facemask hiding his identity. A shadow of a smile graced his lips as he found this all amusing. "Well the last time I checked, I thought that it was 'Uncle Kakashi,' but sensei will do."

"You... How the hell are you in ANBU?!" Naruto's voice dropped to a whisper. This was too much for the hyperactive boy. He couldn't see Kakashi-sensei as an ANBU, but only as a perverted hentai who read those disgusting books. If his mind wasn't in overload already, it was most certainly now.

Feeling a sweatdrop drop down his head, the silver-haired Joann sheepishly rubbed the base of his neck. "Err. . ."

The other shinobi sniggered quietly to themselves, the infamous Sharingan Kakashi smiling pleadingly to the blonde while flapping his hands up and down to quiet the Uzumaki.

"I mean a lazy perv like you couldn't possibly pass the test or whatever, 'cause remember the time where you let the chalk board eraser fall- Oumph! Mmmrrrimma!"

Kakashi had Naruto's mouth clamped shut with his hand, the blonde withering and struggling in his firm grasp as sky-blue eyes glared angrily at the smiling nin.

"Yes, now why don't you stay quiet like that for a minute while I go and get your fath..." Kakashi never had a chance to finish what he was saying because suddenly, the remaining ANBU quickly lined up and deeply bowed their heads to the figure who had walked into the room with calm authority.

Naruto stared at the man with an open mouth: well as best as he could anyway, with Kakashi-sensei's hand over it.

The man looked. . . well. . . like a splitting image of himself- only older and a lot more serious about things that shouldn't be his concern. It was like having a mirror in front of you that showed you the future self in twenty years.

The same golden yellow spikes that were somewhat longer and more untamed, yet you couldn't say that it wasn't unkempt, like he purposely had his hair styled like that. Deep blue sapphires gazed sternly ahead, in each, a fire intensely burned, something that was impossible to place a finger on: determination and courage flickered deeply within those eyes like a powerful flame.

A familiar robe hung loosely around his body, and a hitai-ate leaf headband was tied around his head, letting blonde bangs hide most of the metal. What really offset the blonde was that the attire belonged to the _Hokage._

Naruto couldn't help but feel safe in this stranger's presence, like the man had created a barrier that made him feel like. . .

_Somehow, it was so. . ._

_It was like the time when Iruka-sensei acknowledged him for who he was, not because of the demon that made everyone look at him with disgust and loathing. _

_However. . . it was so different._

_Was it pain? But it was never like this. . . there was no sadness that followed, but like. . . meeting someone you haven't seen for a long time. _

It was deep inside his chest, and it kind of hurt, but it made him _happy_ of all the stupidest reasons; what was that word Sakura-chan would have used?

_Bittersweet._

"Kakashi, you can release him now. I think that he needs to breathe, don't you think?" The man's voice was light and teasing, cheerful and bright, quite unsuspecting from his appearance of a stiff and formal man.

Bowing his head, the silver haired Jounin did as he was told, but there was a twinkle in his eye as he released Naruto, who still had that stupid expression on his face, like he didn't know what to make of his stranger.

Crossing his arms, the growled, "Just who the hell are you anyways? Where's old man Hokage?" He glared reproachfully with a doubtful look in his eyes. This person. . . Naruto had a faint inkling that he saw his face somewhere. But where? Racking his brains, he'd yet come up with an answer.

A mix of surprise and shock registered across every ninja's face, Kakashi and the stranger exchanged worried looks as Naruto remained impassive about anything, in fact, he had a glowering scowl plastered across his face and he rumpled the bed sheets even farther by kicking his legs out.

Calmly, the man took a step forwards and asked Naruto, "Do you remember anything at all?" His tone seemed hurt, yet his face remained impassive, like a rigid statue's expression.

Should he tell the truth? What did Kakashi-Sensei once told him? Something about gathering more information before acting rashly? Really, he needed to start paying attention- and he vowed to, once he figured out what was going on. Scratching his head, Naruto racked his brains for an answer, finally answering, "Err. . . I was in the Forest of Death and then. . . I kinda blacked out? Hell, how should I know?"

The man nodded once before saying, "Yes, Itachi-kun found you unconscious, but what on earth did you do in there that nearly put you into a coma?!" His voice was stern and commanding, and it had the biting edge of anger that turned his question into one of scolding.

"Hey, don't yell at me! Just who do you think you are, huh?" Naruto snapped, rolling his blue eyes in annoyance. Man, this guy was acting a whole lot like. . .

He froze.

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't a complete idiot, even though many believed so otherwise. He had a brain somewhere locked up there in his ten-inch thick skull, and it just so happened that it decided to lend a helping hand.

An impassive face looked at the blonde Genin's, before answering, "Your father."

Naruto suddenly felt the room spin around him before falling backwards with a thump. This was too much for his mind to handle. It couldn't be helped that it suddenly wanted to shut down. (Again for the second time that day.)

"He'll be all right. After all, Hokage-sama. . . he does take after you," chuckled Kakashi as he pulled down his ANBU mask over his face.

"I hope you meant that as in a good way, Kakashi." Blue eyes twinkled, a large grin stretched across his face. Tenderly, the man tucked the sheets around Naruto but no one missed the sorrowful look that flashed on his face before resuming a smile.

"Maa, don't I always?" Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with a laugh.


	2. Missing? The enemy attacks!

Ok, I've done some revisions, mostly in the middle. I'm so tired right now. . . and I need some sleep! However, for the good of all my readers, I'm typing this story, so try to enjoy it, ne?

Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto.

- - -

Naruto's whole body felt like lead, from his uncomfortable position on the hospital bed he tried to get some feeling back into his numb arm. Like his brain, it was sleeping, and it smarted real badly when he clenched it forcefully and relaxed ever so subtly.

It took several minutes for him to realize that the ceiling he was staring at wasn't his own. His had layers of paint that told the record of the entire building layout from the first floor up, and had web-like cracks and chips that stretched out like the hand of God. This one could have been classified as a 'nice' ceiling. It was smooth and not a single gaffe marred its pretty surface.

It took a moment to get his jaw working again, but no words came out. He felt like someone had pressed a pillow against his head, and it was hard to think because something was blocking his thoughts. His astonished sapphire eyes widened as he remembered...

"HOLY SHIT!!!"

Naruto leapt out of the bed and attempted opening the door. He really did try, except that the door was locked... and it seemed that it wasn't going to let him out either anytime soon.

He did what any normal person would do... in his special, _unique_ style...

"OY! LET ME OUTA HERE! YOU CAN'T LOCK UP ME LIKE A STUPID MUTT! I'M UZUMAKI NARUTO, YOU HEAR, FUTURE HOKAGE OF KONOHA!!" He pounded the thick door with both of his fists, and even childishly kicked it when no one answered his call.

Of course, that didn't bode well for the loud genin.

"ITAI!! DAMN DOCTORS! ISN'T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A HOSPITAL?!" He cursed viciously as he hopped on one foot to nurse his other. "Stupid guys in white suits... I always knew that they're only in for it for the money..." He glowered angrily at the blank door, glaring at the fake wood knots that were carved onto the surface.

Right now, he wasn't in the best of moods. He was lost, confused, and most of all hungry.

He still couldn't believe that he still had a father, but the Yondaime to boot! And he couldn't get over the fact that Kakashi-sensei was in ANBU... He had no clue to whatsoever was going on, it seemed that someone out there was really enjoying the twist that Naruto was going through.

He wanted some answers, and the wanted them now! Maybe Iruka-sensei would know what was going on...

Naruto wasn't the type to give up, and no locked door was going to keep him inside for long. His eyes traveled to the window that nearly doubled his size, not that he minded as so much now then as to before.

Pressing his face against the warm glass, he gulped as he realized that he was several stories above ground, as in a couple hundred feet that would no doubt seriously injure him if he wasn't a ninja trained in the fine arts of jutsu and ass-kicking.

"To hell with the door, I'll just jump off!" After vocally declaring his bigoted plan, he roughly pushed open the window and stuck his head out. The ground seemed A LOT farther away when half of your body was hanging out the widow.

Shoving his nervousness down by pulling himself onto the dubious windowsill, he just sat there for a moment before actually following through with his suicidal plan. It was simple, he just leaned forward and let gravity do its work, but not before cursing the Gods and whoever that managed to work their way into his brain.

And this particular person...

"DAMN YOU SASUKE!!!!" He shrieked as he fell very rapidly...

... managed to be number one on his list. How Uchiha Sasuke managed to place Naruto into this predicament, no one knew, but it felt damn good to blame everything on that bastard.

A thud and crash of breaking branches and foliage pursued seconds after the blonde had jumped off.

Damn those hospitals...

- - -

Uchiha Sasuke was having a perfectly fine day. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and he had just returned from a nice training session. The wind felt good in his face as the breeze carried something more then just the leaves.

The dark haired ninja leaned against the base of a tree, head against the rough bark. Surprisingly enough, it felt good to just sit there and do _nothing_. He felt the sunlight stream through the foliage, enjoying the shadows it made.

Without turning his head, the Uchiha said, "So. . . you came. You know that tomorrow is the exams."

"Gomen ne. . . Sasuke. I was preoccupied with things."

Snorting, Sasuke ran his hands through his hair. "Ch, you always say that. But you never mean it." His clipped tone sounded annoyed, his pale features sculpted into a single look of exasperation.

The source of the voice didn't answer.

"I heard about that idiot Naruto. What did he do this time?" Sasuke suddenly spoke, after the long pause of silence. He turned his head to the speaker, who sat down next to him. Sasuke stiffened slightly when the other did that.

"He was found unconscious at sector 44, forbidden area."

"Ch, typical baka." Sasuke scoffed, playing with his kunai. His fractured reflection gleamed in the highly polished metal surface.

". . ."

Looking up through the branches of the tree, Sasuke could see the sapphire heavens. "Hn, I wonder what will happen if he would be refused the genin test. That moron . . ."

- - -

Hobbling down a street, the blue-eyed blonde used a walking stick to keep himself upright. Leaves, twigs, and burrs stuck out of his hair like some sort of a bird's nest, and scratches and bruises blemished his complexion.

After he jumped out of the hospital (literally), he found out the hard way that he wasn't wearing what you would call 'normal'. Not that his orange attire was the standard outfit among ninjas... He was wearing something that the shabbiest ninjas would commit suicide before publicly humiliating themselves.

Following the bewildered stares and putting two and two together, he ducked quickly into an alley and a quick henge later, was dressed in his said so jumpsuit.

Not bad for a dead last, not bad at all. He congratulated himself by buying a bowl of ramen, forgetting that he had no money on him. Oddly enough, the owner said that it was on the house, something that never happened to him before, no matter how many times he had bought ramen from there.

Groaning, Naruto made his way to his block, dragging his sorry ass to his apartment door. Fumbling around for his keys, the blonde realized a tiny problem. He didn't have any.

"Damn! Why does this kind of stuff always happen to me?" He tugged on the tuffs of his golden locks, moaning about the predicament he was in. If worst came to worst, he could always break open the door with his Kage Bunshin or something like that. He'll deal with the angry landlord later.

Sucking in a lungful of air, Naruto bellowed, "KAGE BUN-"

"Just what the hell are you doing ya no good brat?! Git the hell away from there or I'll report you to the Hokage!" An old man hobbled his way, waving his cane at Naruto dangerously.

The said so blonde fell over, distracted from his jutsu. When he recognized the old man, or 'the landlord' he shouted, "JUST LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO, YA OLD GEEZER!!!"

Apparently, the old 'geezer' took out a pair of thick spectacles and pushed them up to his eyes, magnifying them by ten-fold. "Oh, it's just you Uzumaki-sama... Please forgive my rude behavior... I didn't see who you were..."

"Eh?" Naruto was puzzled.

In his life, he had been called many things, from Dunce, Demon, Dead last, Chicken, Moron, Looser, and the occasional 'Fox boy', Uzumaki-sama was a new one.

By the time his brain had processed this new bit of information, the old geezer was leading him outside the apartment proximities. "Yes, it was quite the honor of having the son of the Hokage visit my humble apartment complexes... now if you ever plan to move out, come back here again. Good-bye Uzumaki-sama."

Naruto was in utter shock for a second, not before Konoha was shaking with, "YA DUMB OLD GEEZER...I **_LIVE_** HERE!!!"

- - -

Sighing, Naruto kicked a stone down the street. He was utterly, and completely lost. That was it. Lost. It wasn't like he didn't know where he was, but he didn't know where to GO.

Iruka-sensei wasn't at the academy and he couldn't find Kakashi-sensei. But then again, he never could find that copycat nin, even if the opportunity presented to itself in a silver platter. Meaning for Naruto, Kakashi standing behind him and scaring the living daylights out of him.

He was feeling a little tired, and briefly his hold on the henge threatened to break. Panicking for a second, Naruto did the first thing he could do. He jumped into an empty garbage can.

- - -

The Fourth sat wearily at his desk, a mountain of paperwork piled up at his sides, threatening to collapse upon the tired Hokage. Across him was a medic nin, who stood rigidly as he read off the contents of the report.

"Due to the several examinations of Uzumaki Naruto, the medic nins have concluded that along with severe exhaustion of chakra, he has been inflicted with some unknown jutsu." The ninja stated as his hands twitched in nervousness. "Traces of chakra not of his own were detected at the time of the examination. It might be the cause of Uzumaki-sama's lack of memories."

"Nani!" The fourth's eyes widened considerably. "Foreign chakra. . . are you positive that it isn't the Kyuubi's?"

"Hai! If it were, then we would know. After all, how can one forget such monstrous chakra the demon gave off? After all, half my squad was wiped out before the Third arrived to save us all!" the medic nin exclaimed. Coughing to hide his embarrassment, he murmured, "Forgive me for my outburst Hokage-sama."

"It's all right." The Yondaime's face was set in deep concentration. He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he fiddled with the possibility that _he_ could have been behind this of all the damnable people in the world. . . "I want all ANBU squads scouting the forest and Konoha's borders. If my assumption is correct. . . Iie, I cannot think like that at a time like this. Dismissed!"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" The ninja disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Just as the medic nin disappeared, another reappeared in a cloud of smoke, although it wasn't as big as this time.

It was Kakashi, with a worried look in his only visible eye as he looked at his former sensei.

Burying his head into his hands, the Fourth said in a tired voice, "Kakashi, this had better be good news." When he was assigned the job as Hokage, he expected the glory and fame that came along with the rank, not the paperwork.

Hatake Kakashi was unusually fidgeting as he gave his message. Clearing his throat and taking his time to talk, as if he wanted to stall whatever might happen he said, "Err... Naruto's missing... it seems that the doctors found his room empty..."

"What! Break in? Kidnapping?" The Hokage jumped to his feet, pushing his chair backwards. Even though he was a father, being a ninja was his first priority. His face wasn't of panic or worry, instead it demanded information and Kakashi's report.

"It seems that the window was open, most likely used to escape since my squad was guarding the door," Kakashi grimly accounted the findings of the room. "We are attempting to locate Naruto's whereabouts, whether he is alone or indeed kidnapped.

The Yondaime nodded. "Do that, while send the other squadrons to patrol the borders and sector 44. If it is indeed what I fear most . . . then the very existence of Konoha hangs in the balance!"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Kakashi disappeared, the usual cloud of smoke accompanying the teleportation jutsu.

Sighing, the man ran his hands through his blonde hair before too using the same jutsu to leave the office.

- - - -

"Crap! What am I gonna do?" Naruto panicked as he hopped from rooftop to rooftop, trying his best not to draw attention to himself. He had re-cast the henge, but stamina or not, he was getting tired.

The sun had already set and he had been circling around Konoha for hours. He had to squint to calculate the distance to the next jump. He was muttering curses under his breath as he suddenly crashed into something in midair, knocking both him and the object down to the ground.

"OWWW! Damn, what the hell was that?" Naruto rubbed his head as he looked around for the offender.

Several feet away from him, there was no other than his former teacher, Mizuki-sensei! But what the hell was he doing there? Hadn't he been... oh wait, he didn't know what happened to that traitor after he beat the shit out of him...

"Ch, so it's the nine-tails brat again. What's the matter, is daddy's boy all alone because everybody despises you?" He snarled as the renegade shinobi regained to his feet, dusting off the dirt that speckled his chuunin vest.

Naruto blinked several times as he struggled to register what was happening. "Oy... what's going on? Didn't I kick your ass? And what the hell's on your back? It looks like some sort of bad fashion statement." He pointed at the object strapped to the nin's back.

Mizuki bitterly laughed as he said, "It's the forbidden scroll; with it, I'll become powerful and rich!"

"Ano sa, Ano sa... Didn't you try that before and I totally wiped the floor with you?" Naruto suddenly smirked as he crossed his two fingers together as he performed his trademark Jutsu.

Ten clones appeared out of thin air and attacked the ninja, but suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke as the enemy casually destroyed them with no trouble at all. "When?" Mizuki twirled a kunai around his finger as he suddenly caught it. "After all, Hokage's brat or not, you're still a academy student, not even a pitiful genin."

Naruto felt the familiar feeling of shock course throughout his system as he only could gape at the chuunin. "What the hell you talking about? I'm SO a ninja! I was taking the chuunin exams before some bastard knocks me outa the exams! Betcha I did better than you ever did!" He shouted as he clenched his hands into fists.

"Tch, what do you expect from a demon? They're just lies. You haven't even gotten your hitai-ate headband yet! Now get out of the way or I'll have to kill you." Mizuki leered as he suddenly rushed Naruto. "Wait, I'll just kill you anyways!"

"KUSO! KAGE BUNSHIN!" The blonde quickly evaded the kunai aimed for his head as duplicates of himself took the blow. _Damn, I didn't remember Mizuki-sensei ever being this strong!_ Naruto futilely tried blocking the taijutsu attacks with his arms but it felt like he was being beaten by a herd of elephants.

A hefty kick sent him flying into a wall; it nearly buckled in half as the Kyuubi vessel was rendered useless, his nervous system failing him. Pain seared his body as he was sure that he had at least broken something.

"Heh, so it ends... DIE!" Mizuki's wrist whipped out, and dozens of kunai, shrunken, and knives of almost every assortment all aimed at Naruto sliced though the night air, making almost a whistling sound.

Horror was the only thing the fallen genin could feel as time itself slowed down.

He closed his eyes and cringed...

Blood splattered everywhere as the blades hit human flesh.


	3. Uchiha truth

Naruto opened his eyes slowly as a shadowed image of a hunched figure stood protectively over him, like an angel. Kunai and Shuriken protruded out of its back, thick red liquid gushed out of the wounds.

"W-Why?" The short, yet simple word was full of surprise and astonishment. Naruto stared at his savior with wide, astonished blue eyes.

Coughing up blood, a hand wiped the thin trickle from his chin. "Hey Naruto, are you all right?" Blood matted blonde hair and dulled eyes searched the boy for any signs of permanent damage.

All Naruto could do was nod his head as he felt the oddest sense of déjà vu. The familiar sense of being protected...

_- -Iruka-sensei stood over him, taking a blow that was meant for the blonde. The blood from his wounds mixed with tears as they slid down his face. "I know that I was so hard on you...yelling scolding... Forgive me, if I had been a better teacher, a better self, then maybe neither of us would have been here."- -_

Always so helpless...

-"_No matter how many times I warn you Naruto...you still keep getting in my way..." Sasuke's voice seemed so distant, so far away to Naruto's ears as the blonde saw the masked shinobi on the ground._

"_Sasuke! You..." Naruto trailed off in horror as his teammate sacrificed himself in order to save him. Acupuncture needles had pieced through the Uchiha's body, like a bug on a pin. "Why... did you... Why?" Naruto yelled, despair and grief griped his heart as he refused to accept that Sasuke would..._

"_How should I know? My body just moved on its own..." The dark haired ninja spat... Naruto numbly caught him in his arms as he watched his teammate 'die.'- - _

Yondaime fell forwards, as Naruto felt hot tears of rage building up in his eyes.

"NO! WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME!" The words exploded from his mouth, full of emotion and heated anger. A kunai found its way wedged between Naruto's fingers, hands clenched tightly around the weapon for all that was worth. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

Mizuki subconsciously took a step backwards, taken aback by the boy's killing intent. His shock intensified as Naruto suddenly disappeared and he whipped his head around just in time to avoid being decapitated. He skillfully leapt backwards, parrying attacks, no time to perform handseals for a ninjutsu.

Naruto's rage was just kept barely under control; he was mindful not to give in to the bloodlust that could have no doubt lead to another Haku and Zabuza incident. He did not want to loose himself, the only thing that brought him back from animalistic anger was Haku, and this time around...

Zabuza had found a useful tool...

_Kakashi's chidori had..._

_He died in peace..._

For his precious person...

He forced back the sudden upset for fresh blood, kicking back the Kyuubi's urges to rip apart this foolish mortal with his bare hands.

He. Was. Uzumaki. Naruto.

Not some demon!

Something inside him changed... his eyes felt strange... like everything was suddenly in focus, seeing every detail for the first time. It was like he was blind and this was the first time opening his eyes and looking at the world.

Mizuki panted for breath as for the first time during this fight, was afraid. It couldn't be! The red eyes of the legendary Sharingan! How can this brat have the wanted bloodline of the Uchiha!

"How... do you..." Mizuki involuntary took a step backwards, a chill ran down his spine. He knew what death looked like... it was staring right in front of him with the eyes the color of his blood...

"Shut the hell up. I won't forgive you... for what you did to..." Naruto looked back at the fallen Hokage and another wave of vehemence threatened to consume him. His body trembled in fury as his fist clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Mizuki barked a laugh that was halfway between a snarl and a cough. "Please. Like a demon like you would ever defeat me. As you know, I was nominated for the jounin exams, so like in hell you'll ever manage to beat me." His sneer abruptly slid off his face as Naruto crossed his fingers together for his trademark jutsu.

"KAGE BUNSHIN!"

More than a thousand shadow copies of Naruto surrounded the chuunin, each with the same fixed scowl on their faces.

"Not so tough now are you, you bastard?"

"I'm going to kick your ass!"

"You're going down!"

On the signal from one of the many Naruto's, the mob all attacked the chuunin at once, some drawing out Kunai, shuriken, or just used their fists for simplicity's sake.

Weaving in and out of the well-coordinated assaults, Mizuki began destroying the shadow doppelgangers by the number. A hazy cloud of smoke soon misted the area, from so many dispelled clones.

Pretty soon, only a handful of duplicates were left, around twenty or thirty. Both sides of the party were exhausted, physically and mentally.

Laughing, Mizuki suddenly crossed his hands together and they performed several horse and tiger handseals, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A huge ball of flames erupted from the shinobi's mouth, nearly engulfing the remaining army of Naruto's. He nearly choked on his own fireball when it was suddenly thrown back at him, copied unknowingly by Naruto who had no idea how he suddenly knew how to perform this jutsu.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Mizuki skillfully leapt away, dodging the flames, as he remained unharmed. "Ha, is that all you have, demon-fox?"

The remaining Naruto, presumably the original, let his lips curl into a wide smirk. "No." He suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke, yet another kage bunshin!

The ground beneath him exploded as the real Naruto emerged, punching Mizuki in a fierce uppercut; sending him airborne. Ten more shadow doppelgangers erupted from their hiding holes underground, and jumped in the air after him.

"U-ZU-MA-KI!" At each syllable, pain was administered to the traitor, finishing it off with a vicious roundhouse kick that sent the body hurling towards the earth.

"NARUTO RENDAN!"

Naruto panted, drawing in each breath as to satisfy his burning lungs. He looked hard at the unconscious Mizuki-sensei, a kunai in his hand, staring almost guiltily at the innocent looking weapon. "Killing you would be just as bad as what you did..." His eyes were their normal shade of blue now, his anger gone and no longer fueled by his emotions. He turned around and walked over the figure of the fourth.

He felt so tired, mentally, as if he lived through a hundred years and back.

"...but... you..." He started to choke, tears made it no longer possible for him to see properly. "...took away what I wanted the most in my life... I had no one... I was so alone, and it hurt so much... everyone had what I wanted... but they hated me... no one acknowledged my existence... the villagers... until I finally had a... I had a family... _Otousan..."_ He cried, finally no longer able to keep his pain locked behind a smile that was pained on.

It felt good; crying made the heavy pain in his chest seem a lot lighter. Someone was lifting the burden he had kept so long in his life; hot streams of tears ran down his face.

Suddenly, strong arms hugged around him tightly, pressing his head against their beating heart. Naruto was so surprised; no one had ever held him like that, so full of compassion and love.

A thick voice slightly muffed, as if they too had been crying said, "I'm so sorry... Naruto... I'm such an awful father..."

"What's... going on?" Naruto wiped his eyes as the body of the Hokage disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

It was only a shadow clone, not the real Yondaime! Wait... that meant that...

"You're... YOU'RE ALIVE!" He exclaimed as he turned around to see his father; tired sapphire eyes that had a hollowed look crinkled into a happy upside-down 'U'. Naruto tackled the Yondaime to the ground as he cheered. "Alive! Alive!"

The fourth smiled as his son pranced up and down his chest, even though it hurt like hell. "Yes, very much as you're jumping on my solid body and seeing that you haven't fallen through yet." He gently pushed him off as he affectionately ruffled his hair.

Naruto grinned like a Cheshire cat, a wide smile stretched from ear to ear. He sniffed once as he rubbed his nose. "Whatever old man."

They both started laughing, happy noise in the air.

Growing serious, Yondaime looked directly into Naruto's eyes, placing a hand on his shoulder. "... I heard what you said back there... And... you're not the real Naruto, are you... I mean you're not an imposter, but something seems a little off about you; your eyes have so much hurt for one so young..."

Biting his lip, the blonde looked at the night sky, how funny. If he were back where things were all normal again, he would be looking at the same moon from his apartment window.

"I don't know." He finally said after a brief moment of pause. "I mean, life was so much easier before things got screwed up. I don't know what's going on, and it's not right!"

Yondaime sucked in a lungful of air, exhaling loudly, which sounded like a hiss. "What do you mean? You said something about the villagers hating you..." He had a cold hand gripping the pit of his stomach, making him feel suddenly ill.

Getting a dark look in his eyes, the young ninja growled, "When I'm Hokage, they all have to respect me. No one's gonna hate me 'cause they have to accept who I am and acknowledge my existence! No one's ever gonna treat me like dirt, 'cause I'll be top dog!"

For one to declare that kind of statement with that kind of determination... what had happened to this boy? Who was he? He was his son... but at the same time, someone who had experienced much more in life.

"Who are you?" Yondaime's voice seemed hoarse and unused. He felt so much out of place, like the first time he had held a baby bundle with overly too much blonde hair.

Sad azure eyes that looked mournful were filled with pain made his heart break into a thousand pieces. A pitiful tone, small and babyish- like it was the first time given a say in matters- whispered, "I don't know. I don't have an otousan, no one respects my existence, people hate me for... that _thing_, and... I just don't know!"

Out spilled the most terrifying things that had haunted Naruto's life. All the pain, sadness, and sorrow that had encased his days were slowly drawn out from the depths of his heart, spinning a tale that left the Fourth with a grim feeling of hatred for his own village and certain righteous fury for the treatment of his son.

"No... you shouldn't be given this kind of treatment. You're a hero worthy of the Hokage title, for carrying the Kyuubi... and pain. Naruto, I acknowledge you as my son and the hero you should be; Konoha ninja." He slipped a rough hand under the boy's chin, causing him to look up.

Naruto found himself looking deeply into the cerulean gaze, so alike as his own. "Otousan..." He started crying again, but this time...

It was tears of happiness... Of being accepted by a parent...

Maybe things had hope after all.

- - -

"Yo." The silver-haired jounin sauntered up to Naruto who was training in the practice area, kicking a log repeatedly.

Stopped from his training, the blonde yelled, "YOU'RE LATE!" as he pointed a finger at the sweatdropping ninja.

"Uh, Naruto? What am I late for?" Kakashi casually leaned against the log as he watched the boy scratch his head in frustration.

As much as Naruto hated to admit, the copy nin had a point. There was never a planned meeting in the first place. It was almost accidental that he had found him here.

"Err... Whatever, 'cause you're still late!" He still declared, as the sweatdrop grew even bigger at the back of Kakashi's head.

Shrugging, Kakashi waved his hand and said in a very tempting voice, "Then I suppose that you don't want to go out for dinner and maybe we could go train somewhere after that..."

Naruto cocked his head to the side like a sparrow. "What 'bout 'Sasuke?'"

Blinking his visible eye, Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "No Sasuke. Just you and me, how does that sound to you?"

"So basically you're saying: 'Screw Sasuke. How about you treat me to ramen and after that if I feel like it, you're gonna teach me the chidori?' COOL!" He punched the air in victory, cheering.

"Eh...sure." Kakashi smiled under his mask, as he watched Naruto tug his hand as he dragging him to the nearest ramen stand. He briefly wondered how much this was going to cost him, seeing that last time the bill had to be paid on a tab.

This wasn't going to come cheap, that's for sure. . .

Sighing, Kakashi entered the ramen stall as Naruto was already ordering several bowls at once. "Naruto. . . shouldn't you be pacing yourself or something? Five at once seems a lot, even for you."

"Ano sa, Kakashi-sensei! I can too eat all of that, or else my name isn't Uzumaki Naruto!" he declared with such intensity that made the tall jounin chuckle.

"Ah, whatever you say." Kakashi waved his hand as he sat down. His order, a small shrimp ramen bowl that was steaming slightly was placed before him.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto yelled as he dug into his ramen with eagerness that earned him a scalded tongue. "ITAI!"

"Naruto. . ." Kakashi shook his head as he split his chopsticks in half. "Nee, nee Kakashi-sensei! It's hot!" Naruto whined, while comical tears ran down his face. (Much to Kakashi's dismay, exactly like Gai would)

Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, Kakashi ran his hand through his hair. "Maa, Naruto. . . it would help if you weren't so klutzy. It's not becoming for a ninja you know."

"Kakashi-sensei!"

After finishing his ramen, (and politely waiting for Naruto to finish his five) Kakashi had to drag Naruto out of the ramen stall . . . literally before the boy had eaten so much that he would get sick. Also, the bill was adding up into a hefty sum that Kakashi was going to have to pay sooner or later.

Naruto found himself standing in an empty field, Kakashi facing him.

"All right Naruto... Hokage-sama has told me that your Sharingan has been awakened, so were going to do a little Sharingan training." He pulled up his headband, the full-fledged wheel of the Uchiha bloodline stared back at him.

"Right!" His face grew determined but lost concentration as he sheepishly asked, "Hey Kakashi-sensei... what's a 'Cherry's fan?'"

The ANBU member would have bodyfaulted, if not for the extensive training over the years. "This is going to take a while..."

- - -

Naruto walked down the market, his pocket considerably heaver from the extra _allowance_, yes allowance. He was really in a good mood, as in REALLY.

He was whistling happy, as he practically skipped from different street vender to another, buying the choosiest of treats that would have been too expensive for him to purchase a few days ago.

Cramming three lollypops all at once into his mouth; they nearly got shoved down his throat when someone bumped into him roughly. Spitting out the sweets, Naruto yelled, "OY! Watch where you're going!"

"Gomen ne, Naruto." A helping hand pulled the blonde up to his feet. "Are you all right?"

Naruto's jaw would have touched the ground if it was possible. "W-W-WHO ARE YOU! IMPOSTER! WHAT'D YOU DO WITH SASUKE!" He trembled as he pointed a finger at a bewildered Sasuke.

An annoyed look crossed his face and the familiar scowl was fixed upon the Uchiha's mouth. "Cut that out Naruto. You're annoying me."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as the 'old' Sasuke was back. Yep, the cold-hearted bastard was back in the flesh.

". . . Naruto, do you want to train?" Sasuke asked, as he nonchalantly placed his hands in his pockets. His raven bangs were gently blowing along with the wind.

The blonde's mouth dropped, and if it could; it would have gone through the ground. "Ano sa, ano sa! Where's the real Sasuke?"

"Naruto. . ." the black haired Uchiha gritted his teeth together as he spat his name with irritation.

"Geeze, if it means that much to you, _Sasuke_." Naruto hung his arms behind his head as he turned around and sheepishly said, "Ano. . . I don't know where it is. . . So why don't you lead the way, ne Sasuke!"

The Uchiha suppressed the urge to groan, as he muttered, "Baka . . ." With that, he walked down the street, with Naruto following closely at his heels.

The blonde edged his way around the Uchiha compound, eying Sasuke's back wearily. He was nervous for some reason, maybe so many Sasuke look-alikes got to him... uncles, cousins, aunts...

Black hair, black eyes... It was an army of them!

He was too busy caught up in his nightmare that he didn't hear Sasuke calling his name.

"Oy, dobe... are you still in there?" He sounded peeved as he threw a rock at Naruto's head, which bounced off his head.

"ITAI! WHY'D YA DO THAT SASUKE-BASTARD!" Naruto screeched loudly, rolling up his sleeves as he prepared to give a beating that the bastard deserved.

Before the situation exploded out of proportion, a pale hand grabbed Naruto's and stopped him from creating a kage bunshin. "I advise you to not do that Naruto-kun. Quite dangerous."

Sasuke's face brightened as he said, "Oniisan! When did you get back?" He seemed genuinely happy for once, no dark anger tainting his aura- he was someone of his age.

Uchiha Itachi blinked slowly as he answered in an impassive voice, "Just a few hours ago. I was on my way to send a report to Hokage-sama." He let his lips twitch slightly into a ghost of a smile, poking both boys' foreheads at the same time. "Don't fight with each other."

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the two behind. Naruto turned to Sasuke and asked, "Since when did you have a brother?"

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke playfully shoved Naruto's shoulder. "Stop being an idiot. Come on, we can train out on the grounds."

"Eh?" Naruto was confused as ever. Since when was Sasuke so nice to him? He couldn't remember the last time when that bastard had added a 'kun' to his name... EVER! He thought that Sasuke lived alone, but...

"Okaasan!" The raven-haired teen pushed open the door and yelled, "Tadaima!" He kicked off his sandals and beckoned Naruto to do the same.

Shrugging, Naruto mimicked Sasuke and followed him to where his nose told him- the kitchen. His mouth watered as the air wafted of baked cookies, a succinct hint of spices, and all those homey scents in a kitchen.

Drooling, Naruto found himself pressed against the oven, staring at the cookies that were slowly being baked. Oh, they were smelled SO good, rich chocolate and cinnamon spices slowly baking; he could almost taste them in his mouth, melting slowly on his tongue.

"Are you feeling better Naruto-kun?" Sasuke's 'okaasan' asked him, shooing him away from the oven so that she could take the pan out and let the cookies start cooling. "Not until fifteen minutes." She gently slapped Sasuke's hand that was inching towards the sweets.

He scowled then quickly snatched one, his arm more than a blur; you couldn't see them. The cookie disappeared into his mouth. "Itai!" He fanned his tongue, as they were hot as his mother promised him.

"Honestly Sasuke... do listen to your okaasan. It might save you grief." She handed her son a glass of water, and turned to Naruto. "So, I've heard that you had gotten yourself in the hospital again. Are you all right?"

"Eh? Just who are you lady?" He squinted at her, trying to match the face with a name. Nope, he had never met her in his life.

Pursuing her lips into a thin line, she ushered Sasuke out of the kitchen, handing him another treat- this time, carefully wrapped in a napkin. "Go out and start training by yourself honey. Naruto-kun will be joining you shortly."

Sasuke shot Naruto a look of envy as he allowed himself to be led out of the heaven of foods. Shutting the kitchen door and making sure that Sasuke wasn't listening, she placed her hands upon her hips and said, "Naruto... I feel so hurt."

Now, by this time, Naruto was sweating, not because the kitchen was so hot- no he was nervous. "Heh, honestly lady, I have no clue who you are! Oh, and are you related to Sasuke by any chance, 'cause you two look freakishly alike."

Sighing, Sasuke's okaasan turned her attention to the dinner. After a moment's pause, she started again. "The doctors had deemed you to have a case of amnesia... they said that you may never regain those memories that you lost. Then I suppose that you forgot all about your dear aunt."

"..." It took a while for his brain to register that newly piece of information. "A-a-aunt!" He started trembling violently. "...Sasuke called you okaasan... and if you're my aunt... does that make him my..."

He trailed off in horror as he derived a conclusion. Who would have known that he was related to that cold-hearted jerk?

"Yes, cousin, as well as Itachi. Naruto, how hard did you hit your head?" She asked him as she began to chop celery on the cutting board with practiced skill.

"How am I related to Sasuke again?" Naruto feebly asked, his voice suddenly weak and shaky. If what this woman said was true... then he would have a whole shitload of relatives all exactly like Sasuke! The horror!

"Your mother was my elder sister, which means that you are as much an Uchiha as Itachi." She tipped the board into a cooking pot, and began to chop tomatoes into tiny cubes. Without prompt from Naruto, she continued, "Your mother was a proud shinobi, a true Konoha ninja to the blood. She however, was so burdened by so many responsibilities: ANBU captain, jounin instructor, and an expected Uchiha representative for the clan. However, your father made things seem so much easier. They made such a cute couple. Of all the shinobi, your mother chose your father."

Naruto swallowed a lump in his throat. It was so surreal, impossible, yet here it all was- his aunt talking about his mother as if she were still alive.

"I remember the time where she announced that she was pregnant with you." She started to chuckle at the fond memory. "Your father had just come back from a mission, and I heard that it didn't go as expected- an ambush I think. Anyways, as he was rushed to the hospital, she broke the news to him. I do like to believe that it was the reason they had accepted him to the emergency room so quickly. Of course that this was all before he was named Hokage. He was given that title three months before you were born."

Naruto's breath rattled inside his chest, drawing out each gasp, as if breathing was the only thing that was anchoring him to life itself. His head begun to spin- what he had always wanted to hear was given to him on a silver platter.

A mother? Sure, he saw them around Konoha. They cooked, cleaned, and did stuff that mother's do all the time. However, he never knew exactly what a mother was to a child- he never had one. Hell, he didn't know what a mother WAS until someone had spelled the words out to him, read from a dictionary. Then they pushed him to the ground and called him a monster.

He had a bittersweet feeling again, as he asked, "Why are you telling me this?" It hurt so much, a longing that he learned that couldn't be satisfied with anything.

Onyx opals stared hard at the blonde, as they were filled with sympathy. "Because..." She lightly touched his cheek, smooth fingers running over his whisker-like markings. "I don't want you to ever forget someone like her... even if you two never met each other."


	4. A ninja's Test

Ok, I am SOOOO sorry for the long update. My computer just crashed and I had to get it reformatted and lost the chapter I was working on. Also, I had a wedding to go to, and school is killing me. Geometry SUCKS!!! If anyone's willing to give me a few tips… I'M BEGGING YOU!!!!!

Ahem. Another important notice… **Happy birthday Anne!!!!** I know it's a little too late but hey, Happy birthday, ne?

_**Oh… some important announcements to make:**_

1) Someone asked me if Naruto and Sasuke are really related in the Manga… and the answer is no.

2) Someone said in their review that giving Naruto the Sharingan was dumb… well I had a few reasons why I did so. One to give Naruto a whole another side of family to deal with and I just felt like changing things a bit. There's been a few fic's where Naruto has the Sharingan, but most of them are poorly written.

3) Yaoi. Me? I have nothing against it, but I'm not really a big fan of it. If you're thinking "Then why the hell does she have so many Yaoi stories on her favorites…" This is a shared account and Anne has total control over the favorites and she is obsessed with that kind of stuff.

A few asked for Naruto/Sasuke and if you want to think that way… do so. Or you could interpret it as brotherly love/friendship between friends. Either way, I don't care.

4) I want pairings. Naruto/Hinata is probably going to be it, but I could have no pairings at all if things don't work out. So tell me and I'll consider…

Disclaimer: If I ever own Naruto, then Itachi would be mine!

I feel like this story isn't really good compared to all the others out there… and I'm feeling discouraged. Tell me if I need improvement or such. It's going to help out a lot. Thanks.

- - -

"Oomph…" Naruto groaned as from the depths of his warm bed covers, an annoyance poked at his side quite harshly as he snuggled deeper into the comfortable layers of downy featheriness. It was too early, too cold for him to be awake at this hour…

"Nee, nee…" He incoherently mumbled as he waved the annoyance away. "…Go 'way. I'm still on the hundredth… ramen to go…" He turned over and curled up tighter as he dreamt on. It wasn't until something violently yanked his sheets away and pushed him to his feet.

Of course… one must always have some sort of conscious state of being in order to stay upright… which was what Naruto was precisely missing. Meeting headfirst with Mr. Carpet with the implied usage of gravity surely worked better then coffee itself.

"ITAI!! JUST WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR YA OLD GEEZER?!! I WAS SLEEPING DAMN IT!!" Naruto roared as he rubbed his newly acquired bump on his head from his odd position from the floor. Just as he opened his mouth again, something orange hit his face; his jumpsuit.

"Baka gaki! How could you be thinking of sleep at a time like this! You're going to be late for your genin exams!" The Yondaime frantically ran around his son's room, getting the boy's ninja things, tossing various kunai holsters and shrunken pouches at the boy along with everything needed for a Konoha shinobi.

"…WHAT!!!???" Naruto leapt up to his feet as he viciously jerked off the orange material off his head and began pulling on his clothes. Tripping while trying to stuff one leg down the pants, as he met Mr. Carpet again- painfully on his face.

Muttering from his prostrate position, the blonde haired ninja retorted, "Some Hokage you are. Can't you even keep track of time?" Suddenly, his breakfast was dropped onto his face, eggs and bacon made up his face into an unusual mask that was laughable.

"Heh, sorry there Naruto… I guess that the omnipotent Hokage's hand slipped… a lot, eh?" His face split into a wide Cheshire grin, almost identical to Naruto's foxy smile. However, as powerful as Konoha's greatest leader was, he was totally caught off guard as Naruto's breakfast caught him head on.

"Ha! Got ya! So what were yapping about being omni-whatever?" Naruto crowed triumphantly as he laughed in childish delight, pointing a finger at the yolk covered Hokage.

Wiping his eyes clear of the breakfast, blue eyes narrowed into angry slits. "Oh that's it gaki… this means war!" With that, the Hokage hurled the entire slop of breakfast at Naruto, the plate shattering against the wall- Naruto having enough sense to duck.

It was then when chaos was ensured.

CRASH!

"Hee, hee! Ya missed, old man!"

TWACK!

"Not bad for a gaki… but your aim needs work! Here, let me demonstrate for you…"

WHUMP!

"Stop moving damn it! Stand still!"

CRACK!

"Now why would I want to do that Naruto?"

BASH!

"Kuso! Maybe this will work…"

CRUMBLE…

SHAKE….

RUMBLE…

"Oh Kami… NO NARUTO! NOT THE…"

CCCRRRAAAASSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

The Uzumaki household shook with ruckus and of breaking glass. This was not going to end anytime soon, seeing that both were well armed with arsenals of food and weapons of mass destruction.

"Ha! I got you! Oomph!" As soon as Naruto opened his big mouth, and seeing that the Yondaime was the great ninja that he was (and expert shuriken thrower), his mouth was literally became a bull's eye for the Hokage. "MMMRRUUMPH! MIE!!!"

The Hokage had the good sense to interpret the garbled message and wisely ducked as Naruto launched himself onto him with a loaf of bread and started to repeatedly whack his head while attempting to cling onto his shoulders.

Laughing at the end when both had agreed to a truce, Naruto felt a sense of happiness swell up in his chest as he watched his otousan help him to his feet and rubbed his hair affectionately. There was a sense of kindness that Naruto had seen only a few times in his life that was directed toward him.

"Look what you've done. This place is a mess, ne Naruto?" The older blonde chuckled as he carefully stepped around the disaster of food, ketchup, mustard, oil, and other unidentifiable particles that were an odd color. Looking over his shoulder he grinned as he said, "Don't worry about it kid. I'll hire a genin team to clean up. Who knows, maybe in a few weeks, it'll be you scrubbing the kitchen floor with your other teammates." He winked as he disappeared upstairs, and Naruto could hear the shower being turned on as the pipes moaned and groaned.

Naruto smiled, but this time…

_ "I'll be Hokage and then you all have to respect me!"_

_Rest of the class erupted into laughter as they scoffed at the impossible dream that was fantasized by the stupid deadlast. _

"_Yeah right!"_

"_Get real. Who'd want a flunkout like you as Hokage?"_

_Naruto plastered a wide smile on his face as he yelled, "Don't underestimate me! Being Hokage is my dream!"_

_He let the rest of the class laugh as he was still grinning as if he had already achieved the title of the fire shadow. But inside…_

_A terrible hollow feeling that made him hurt deeply from the inside out…_

"_Oy, aren't your cheeks ever tired from smiling so much?" Someone called out from the crowd as it broke Naruto's train of thoughts. _

"_Eh?" He squinted his eyes as he felt his lips still frozen in the same place. "What the hell are you talking about?"_

"Hey! You'd better not use up all the hot water!" Naruto exclaimed as he slowly came to a realization. He ran across the tiled floor, only slipping once as he caught himself just in time and thundered upstairs. Naruto pounded on the bathroom door as much yelling and cursing could be heard throughout the whole house.

Haruno Sakura sighed as she stared at a picture; there were two people in it. One had a serious and solemn face while the other was laughing and had an arm draped around the other's neck. Obviously they were close friends, almost brothers.

Yes, her eternal crushes together in one picture for her to stare hours and hours at, dreaming of endless ways how her dream date would turn out. She blushed as the aforementioned dark haired ninja crept slowly to her mind's eye, brushing his lips gently against her hand. The color of her cheeks darkened as the dark-haired Uchiha was replaced with the handsome blonde haired shinobi.

"…Naruto-kun… Sasuke-kun…" She murmured, as if tasting the way how their names sounded on her lips. Two perfect boys and only one of her… oh the awful thing about choices!

As if on cue, Ino appeared right behind the pink haired girl, eyes flaming with jealously and almost animal-like possession. "Hey, you'd better not take my Naruto-kun wide forehead girl!" She snapped, electricity crackling in the background as the two rivals clashed.

"Oh? And what about you Ino-pig? Aren't you president of the Uchiha-sama fanclub?" Sakura retorted as her inner thoughts brought up gruesome images of blood and gore. **To hell if that pig thinks that she could have both! I'll kill her!**

"Stupid forehead girl, and aren't you the leader of the Sasuke-kun club? Talk about selfish!" Ino's blue eyes flashed with anger as their other classmates hurriedly evacuated the desks around the two. Heavens know that they were fully aware of the dangers when Ino and Sakura fought.

"Ino-pig!"

"Wide forehead!"

"Pig!"

"Forehead!"

Now, Hyuuga Hinata hated it when people around her started to fight, especially when the people that were fighting were close friends. "A-ano… g-g-gomen… but S-sakura-san…Ino-san… please don't fight…" Surprisingly enough, her voice was loud enough to cause the mentioned female ninjas to whirl away from each other in a huff; their backs to back and arms crossed over their chests.

The Hyuuga heiress smiled weakly as she knew the reason why Sakura-san and Ino-san listened to her, and her alone. Club members had the obligation to listen to their commanding officers, and being the president of the Uzumaki Naruto-kun fanclub demanded respect.

Neji-niisan was a firm believer in fate and destiny, and maybe he was rubbing off on her. There was no possible way that someone like her could have ever been elected as the leader if it wasn't already written in stone beforehand. Since Ino and Sakura were both active participants in their own founded clubs and both wanted one for 'their' precious Naruto-kun, thus a new one was formed.

Both didn't want the other to be president, so that was when Hinita was chosen almost quite randomly. Her crush for Naruto was the only reason she tolerated the new responsibility. Besides, it was good for her self-confidence.

Needless to say, a temporally truce was forged between Ino and Sakura- both admiring their two ninjas as Hinata sadly watched from the sidelines wanting to speak to Naruto-kun, but…

How can someone as weak as her possibly talk to the son of the Hokage? How can she even look at someone who was considered a hero for some unknown reason?

Her eyes looked downcast as she played with her fingers, twirling them absentmindedly.

_Naruto-kun…_ Her lavender eyes had a sad reflection as she watched the other two girls. _Demo… how can I possibly compete with Sakura-san and Ino-san? Ano… it is hopeless…_

As if some God up there heard her, a cloud of smoke suddenly 'poofed' up in the middle of the classroom, causing several people in the front row to cough.

"Oy! You couldn't have warned me before you went 'poof' like that?!"

Hinata froze- she immediately recognized that confident and bold voice…

"Ah gomen Naruto… but you didn't like it?"

"NO! NOT WHEN YOU GO ALL SMOKE AND MIRRORS ON ME!"

The Hokage…

Hinata felt faint as Naruto turned his head around and suddenly his eyes lit up. What was nice about Naruto-kun this time was that he seemed to have a different change of wardrobe. He wore black shorts that came down to his knees, a long sleeved shirt that was a much nicer shade of orange than his bright jumpsuit, and over that was a black vest with a hood and the Uzumaki symbol on the back.

Her heart fluttered for a second but then it dropped rock bottom as the boy she loved so dear called out, "Hey Sakura-chan!" He chirped brightly, waving his hand at the pink haired girl.

Eyes wide with disbelief, Sakura was in a state of shock.

_He… He… waved to me?_

"H-hey Naruto-kun!" She stammered, waving back, ignoring the venomous looks that Ino was giving her with a promise of murder in her eyes. **Hell yeah! Dreams do come true!**

Hinata walked away, her head bowed down and she avoided anyone's eye contact. How of a fool she was to think that…

"Naruto, let me speak with your teacher to see if he'll let you take the test. Although you're a bit late… I think that he'll make an exception for you seeing that it was my fault, ne?" He winked at him and opened the door to the other classroom where the future possible ninjas were to perform the exam.

Suddenly, Naruto felt very uncomfortable as every pair of female eyes locked onto him- terror! He didn't like the way they were eyeing him…

"Err…" He scratched the back of his head, nervously backing up until he was pressed against the blackboard wall. Sweat bullets poured down the back of his head as his breathing became irregular. Was this how Sasuke felt all the time? No wonder the guy had so much stress!

Fortunately for Naruto the said so person called out, "Hey dobe, get over here."

Naruto had never been so happy to hear Sasuke call him 'dobe' in his life. "Oy! Show some respect Sasuke-bastard!"

He laughed as Sasuke made a sour face as he muttered something that the blonde couldn't hear. The tense atmosphere that Naruto was standing in dissolved almost instantly as classroom chatter was again buzzing throughout the room.

Naruto stood in the nearly empty room that he had his test in as he faced Iruka-sensei with a broad smile stretched across his face. The last of the smoke cleared away by an unnatural whirl of wind.

"Heh, not bad… yep! Not bad at all! Ne, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto rubbed the engraved leaf symbol on the smooth metal plate. Yes, the familiar feeling of the headband around his head made him feel secure again. "So, how 'bout you treat me out for some ramen, ne?" He didn't notice the slightly surprised look that his teacher gave him.

"Naruto-san… ah gomen, but what are you talking about?" Iruka's face was one of puzzlement and quandary. Naruto's smile crashed as soon as he saw that Iruka-sensei wasn't kidding around.

"Hey, hey! What the hell are you adding 'san' to my name? It's just Naruto! Geeze Iruka-sensei, are you feeling all right 'cause you're acting funny." Naruto suddenly had a cold feeling and the classroom seemed to shrink in size and the walls slowly crept in around him.

Still giving Naruto that funny look, Iruka politely opened the door for him as he said, "Congratulations Naruto-sa…" He hastily caught himself. "…graduate…" Somehow, even though those were the same words, they felt empty and hollow.

"You've passed…"

"Nee, of course Iruka-sensei! I'll be Hokage someday, so that's why! See you later!" He grinned widely and held up a thumb before he ran out, not even looking back as his head was tilted so that no one could see his azure eyes.

He didn't hear Sakura or Ino call out his name as he ran past them, nor stopped to apologize to Hinata when he knocked her over. He kept on running, as if it would make things better- dodging past the street vendors and polite greetings of the villagers.

It wasn't until he finally reached the top of the Hokage monument he collapsed, breathing harshly. His chest rattled, lungs burning for air. For some strange reason… his face was dry.

Maybe it was that crying didn't do much… and he was especially sick of moping around and waiting for things to get better.

_"…So you figure it's noble to star in a melodrama and treat everyone around you like guests at your pity party? It takes a really big man to sit around and cry… you big baby!"_

He hugged his legs as he buried his head in his arms.

_Of course Iruka-sensei doesn't need to acknowledge me here… everyone else already does… why would his matter when I got the whole village?_

He heard footsteps behind him as he said dully, "Go away…"

The footsteps didn't go away, instead a hand rested on his shoulder. For a while, it was silent, an eerie wind blew from the east, bring along leaves, whirling and spinning around Naruto.

Finally, the blonde opened his eyes and looked at the person behind him. Uchiha Itachi… golden boy's supposedly genius of a brother. "Nee, What do you want?" He asked, staring into the dark ebony eyes of the Uchiha prodigy.

Those eyes… were like pools of darkness, black and almost… scary. It seemed impossible that those very same eyes held tenderness for the precious people in his life.

"…" Itachi seemed to ponder this as it took him a while to respond. The wind blew stray strands of his hair into his eyes as he tucked the loose ends back. "An answer."

"Nani?" Naruto would have deadpanned, if not for that fact that he was too depressed to do so.

A ghost of a smile touched the pale lips of the ninja before him as he questioned, "What makes shinobi worthy of being shinobi?" His face told Naruto nothing as to what kind of answer he wanted.

Puzzled about this, Naruto cocked his head to the side and looked up as if the sky would hold the answers.

_What makes a shinobi worthy of being a shinobi?_

The twenty-fifth rule of shinobi conduct states that no matter what happens, true ninjas must never sow their emotions. The mission is the only priority. Carry that in your heart and never shed a tear.

But was being a shinobi only about rules and regulation? What about teams and comrades?

_"A true shinobi seeks for the hidden meanings within hidden meanings. In a ninja's world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are lower than trash… However, those who do not care and support their teammates… are even lower than that!"_

But…

Naruto closed his eyes again and searched for the truth that would prevail. What would make HIM feel worthy of carrying the name of shinobi?

_"Maybe I do hate the fox, but not Naruto. Not the boy. For him I have nothing but respect." Iruka-sensei raised his eyes defiantly at the sneering Mizuki. He was proud of that boy, and clenched his fists as he ignored the pain from his wounds. _

" _He's an excellent student. He works with all sis might, but sometimes even so, he's clumsy, a screwup… People have mocked him and shunned him… and it's given him empathy. He knows what it is to be in pain."_

_Naruto clutched the scroll tighter as he heard the words the wanted to hear all of his life. "That boy is no longer your demon fox! He is a citizen of Konohagakure…Uzumaki Naruto!" _

Blue eyes slowly opened as the blonde turned his head slightly to look at Itachi who still had a placid face that was waiting for his response. It was as if he was…

_"Congratulations… graduate!"_

He knew the answer now.

"Acknowledgement." He simply replied with a wide grin as his eyes closed into happy crescent moons. "The thing that's going to make a ninja feel like a real ninja is someone to tell them that they're worthy of the name."

Amusement shone in the dark-haired teen's eyes as he allowed a rare smile to creep onto his face. "Well done… " He started to walk down the footpath back to the village. "…Naruto-kun. You've passed my test… I'll see you soon, little cousin."

For a second, Naruto's face was taken aback; he watched the retreating back of Itachi until he couldn't anymore.

_Somehow… just somehow…_

"Oy! Itachi! Wait for me!" Naruto pushed himself off the ground and started to sprint in the direction where the Uchiha had disappeared. As each step, something in his heart- a burden was slowly being lifted.

He was… shinobi of Konoha.


	5. Team seven

Heh, I'm really sorry for updating so late. I had all these tests and projects…

Right now, I'm going through a life crisis… surviving school. I failed the bio test, my math grade is just above a C and English… I don't want to think about it. And to top it all off… finals!

Anyways, I'm doing my best, working hard… I hope… and typing as fast as I can.

**NOTE:** A few people commented that Naruto shouldn't have learned the Naruto rendan until after the preliminaries, but if he could beat Neji and Kiba by using some complex strategies, then maybe he could have come up with the technique by himself. And plus, he already watched Rock Lee once…

Itoko: It means cousin in Japanese

Anyways, here's the long waited chapter. Enjoy!

- - - -

Kakashi woke up to a peaceful morning with the sun shining merrily through his window. He grimaced as he sluggishly swung himself out of bed-a task that seemed impossible at that moment- and walked over to his bathroom. The reflection in the mirror showed a bleak-eyed man with dark brown stains coating his silver hair as well as skin.

Suddenly, last night's mission flashed in his head, an assassination assignment. Things had been going well, his squad going in the darkness of the night and successfully killing the target, but they hadn't expected that the target had been the bait and were ambushed by several sound shinobi.

Unexpectedly, the urge to empty his stomach made him gag. Even though countless missions such as these made him calloused to death, it didn't make him heartless. He turned on the shower, the water at first cold then hot pounded on his tired shoulders.

The water turned pink before disappearing down the drain. He hated blood, ironic as it was. When it dried it would be so hard to get off, you would have to scrape off flakes with your fingernails and even then, it sometimes wouldn't come off. It was as if he was constantly stained. There was an old saying in the ANBU: you were marked by blood, not tattoo.

Three members of his squad were ruthlessly killed before any of them had the chance to react. It was because of Kakashi's single Sharingan eye that had saved his life. Reacting faster than he could think, he brought up a kunai to defend himself, deflecting several shuriken. He had barely made it out alive, dragging the remaining members of his team back to Konoha as fast as he could, being attacked several times. It was a miracle in itself that he hadn't died.

He turned off the shower as he ran a fleecy towel through his hair. Pulling on his clothes sluggishly and wiping the foggy mirror again, he stared at himself. He really did looked like something that had crawled out of the grave. Sighing, he turned around and crept back into bed.

Let Hokage-sama yell at him later. He was tried and the de-briefing could wait… he'll understand… hopefully he wouldn't get chewed out too much...

- - - -

"Nee… I wonder what Itachi meant…" Naruto let his thoughts drift back to the day's previous events.

"…_Naruto-kun. You've passed my test… I'll see you soon, little cousin."_

"Maa, he's even worse than Sasuke!" He propped his chin on his hand as he stared out the window. He was oblivious to the mass number of the female population gawking over him. "They leave me so confused…"

The blonde perked up when Iruka-sensei walked into the classroom, holding a clipboard and a pencil stuck behind his right ear. "All right! Attention! Attention!" He tried talking over the noise of the class, but no one paid any attention.

"OY! LISTEN TO IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto stood up, his chair falling backwards as the class suddenly hushed.

Giving the blonde a grateful look, Iruka-sensei coughed once into his hand. "Thank you Naruto-" Iruka paused before speaking. "… From this day forward, you are no longer mere academy students, but full-fledged shinobi. But among the ranks of shinobi, you are mere genin, lowest of the low. Your greatest challenges lie ahead. The next step is the assignment of official duties to you all on behalf of our village."

Gee, Iruka-sensei sure likes to talk a lot… Sakura thought as her face deadpanned. **Just shut up and team me up with Sasuke-kun! **

"We will begin by dividing you into three-man teams. Each of you will be taught by a higher ranking jounin who will guide you as you become familiar with your various assignments." Iruka continued, oblivious to inner Sakura's thoughts.

_Three man teams? Sounds like they'll slow me down… _Sasuke thoughtfully propped his chin on his hands as his mind raced with the possible combinations of the teams that could be one of his own.

_Man, this is so boring! I wonder what's going to be for dinner tonight? I hope otousan's gonna treat me out at Ichiraku's!_ Naruto gleefully rubbed his hands together as he imagined himself eating endless ramen bowl after another. He was off in his own little world.

"And team seven will consist of…" Iruka paused before reading out the names. "Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura."

"Hell yeah!" Sakura shrieked in delight as Sasuke's face could be seen buried in his arms as Naruto could have sworn that he was moaning.

"Take that Ino-pig!" The pink haired girl danced in her victory.

"Iruka-sensei! Why does the wide forehead girl gets to be teamed up with Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun?!" Ino angrily exclaimed as she pointed at the exuberant Sakura.

"Well…" Iruka chewed the bottom of his lip as he carefully fiddled with words. A slip, and everything would go wrong… _I can't tell them that… Naruto and Sasuke need the same teacher for their Sharingan development… and Sakura would be the ideal choice for her precise chakra control… _

He hated to say it but he was playing favorites… again. Just because the Hokage requested for Naruto to be put on the same team as Sasuke… and he had a soft spot for Naruto, even though he held deep respect for the young ninja. He could never imagine living with so much expectancy from everyone around him.

"This year, we did things a little differently that would effect the outcome of the teams… and Sakura just… happened to be with Naruto and Sasuke…" Iruka haplessly smiled as Ino's face that resembled a banshee's.

Unfortunately, every female in that class agreed with Ino.

A sigh escaped Iruka's lips as he prayed to any god that would listen.

_Oh father thou art in heaven, let these kids pass. Thou shall protect every from harm… including each other. Amen. _

"YOU ARE SO DEAD SAKURA!!!!!!!"

Or not… 

- - - - -

Kakashi was in a very uncomfortable position as he tried not to squirm under the piercing blue gaze of his former teacher. He felt like he was a genin again, all those years ago.

"Now…" The Yondaime's voice seemed to undertake a very dangerous growl as he continued. "…Just what happened Kakashi? And none of your excuses! I want to know why those sound nin ambushed us!" He pounded his desk with his fist angrily.

Kakashi seemed to thoughtfully stroke his chin as he answered in a slow voice, "It wouldn't be good if the sound started a war with the leaf now… we've just signed a peace treaty with the sand and if war broke out, that just might break the frail bond between us and the sand."

The Yondaime gritted his teeth as he massaged his aching temples. His head started to pound as he anticipated a migraine that would last for quite the time. "Damn, what's that Orochimaru up to this time?" He turned around and looked out the window to where the general direction where the sound village was. The mountain obscured his vision as well as the treetops of the forest.

Both men fell into an uneasy silence as they pondered the possibilities; none seemed to be happy for the village. Kakashi remained quiet as he listened to the Hokage muttering curses as he watched the older blonde rummage through his desk for numerous scrolls.

"Kakashi, I'm sending you on another mission. Deliver these to the other kage villages except sand. The last thing we need is for the Kazekage to think that Konoha is vulnerable to any attack. I don't want them getting any ideas…" The Yondaime handed Kakashi the scrolls who immediately pocketed them.

"Hai." The silver-haired man held up a seal, but stopped as he almost embarrassingly asked, "Maa, about teaching a team… did I…"

The Hokage sighed as he shook his head, "Ah, gomen Kakashi… Uchiha Itachi offered to teach, most surprisingly enough… but…" A dangerous glint in his eyes promised Kakashi that he wouldn't get disappointed. "There's always the weekends. I'm sure Naruto would be free then. I suggest on new techniques. God knows that Kage bunshin won't suffice enough."

Smiling Kakashi nodded his head. "Hai, Hokage-sama." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

- - - -

"Geeze, where's our sensei? I can't see him! Where is he?!" Naruto craned his neck, trying to spot team seven's new teacher. Sasuke who seemed annoyed immediately hit him on the upside of his head.

"Baka. Calm down." He smirked at Naruto who fumed in anger.

"What'd you call me?! C'mon Sasuke-bastard, I'll beat you up so bad, that not even your Kaasan's gonna recognize you! Bring it on!" Naruto rolled up his sleeves as Sasuke, for once, agreed with Naruto.

Both forming handseals, of _tiger_, the two boys glared at each other. "Katon-"

Suddenly, a pale hand grabbed both hands and prevented them from completely burning out the academy. In an exasperated voice, the ninja sighed, "Haven't I taught you anything yet? Foolish little brother, haven't you considered the consequences of the Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu inside an enclosed classroom?"

Naruto sniggered as he watched Sasuke shift uncomfortably under the cold glare of his older brother.

"You shouldn't be laughing Naruto-kun. A shinobi doesn't loose his temper whenever someone insults them. You are just as worse as Sasuke." Itachi said in a deathly quiet voice that instantly shut both up.

Sakura was the first to ask, "Ano… are you our sensei?" She hesitantly asked as she boldly looked into the deep blackness of his opal-like orbs.

Itachi nodded as he ignored the looks that Naruto and Sasuke were giving- wide, blank eyes with jaws nearly toughing the floor. "Hai. Meet me on the roof as soon as those two," He jerked his head towards the boys, "are able to speak properly again."

The pink haired girl nodded numbly as her new instructor disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Emerald eyes stared blankly at the empty spot that once occupied.

"Nani, what the hell is he here?" Sasuke was the first to recover, as Naruto's mouth resembled a fish's.

- - - -

Itachi looked at his new team with a lax expression in his eyes, as he leaned casually against the railing. "I want you to tell me a little about yourselves."

Naruto's face scrunched up into a pout as he grouched, "Nee, why? I know everything about this team anyways. And what about Kakashi-sensei? Isn't he supposed to teach team seven? Just what the hell's going on?!"

Itachi ignored him and motioned Sakura to go after Sasuke had finished. "Next."

"Hey, don't you ignore me!" Naruto pointed his finger at Itachi who's eyes slowly flickered to him, his expression unreadable.

"Ninja who do not know when to be quiet don't deserve to live. A careless mishap on your behalf on a mission may cost you your life. Next." Itachi again motioned Sakura to continue.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are…" She coyly looked at both boys to her left as she continued. "And my dreams are…" She suddenly blushed as she squealed.

Sasuke's right eye twitched slightly as Naruto seemed clueless to what Sakura was actually thinking. Itachi quirked an eyebrow as he coughed, which suspiciously sounded like he was snickering.

"And I hate Ino-pig." She deadpanned, "and my hobbies are…"

_It appears that she is more interested in my otouto and itoko than ninjutsu… this will turn out to be quite… interesting._ Itachi mused to himself as he carefully looked over his new team with a cynical eye.

"Enough." Itachi stopped Sakura as he motioned that it was Naruto's turn. "Naruto."

"Yosh! My name's Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even better is the ramen at Ichiraku's! And I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water." The blonde said excitedly as he clenched his fist.

Itachi's face remained unreadable as Naruto continued.

"And my dream is to become a better ninja than all the previous Hokages and surpass them all!" Naruto held up his forehead protector proudly as the sunlight gleamed off the metal surface. Shrugging, Naruto finished, "And I guess my hobbies are pranks and practical jokes…"

Nodding his head once, Itachi reached into his jounin vest and pulled out three scrolls. Tossing them into the air, he let the scrolls catch the sunlight before landing perfectly in the genin's laps. "Tomorrow, we will meet on the practice field to have a test. Of the twenty-seven members of your graduating class, only nine will be officially considered genin."

Smirking, Itachi continued. "This test has a failure rate of 66, so I suggest you all prepare yourselves. Sasuke, Sakura… you are dismissed." Itachi motioned them to leave. "Oh, and don't eat breakfast."

Sasuke asked in a low voice, "Why shouldn't we?"

It wasn't like his aniki would actually fail him if he didn't do as he said… would he? His father wouldn't be pleased at all if his second son didn't pass the first time. He shuddered at the thought.

Itachi said with no emotion in his voice, "Foolish little brother… will you really go against your superiors? In combat situation, disobeying means…" His hand whipped out and a shuriken was embalmed deeply into the wall. A thin trickle of blood welled out of the cut; Sasuke gently rubbed the wound with his fingers.

"…Death." Itachi's lips twitched into the slightest of smiles as he continued. "If you really want to know, you'll throw up. So save me the grief of cleaning up your messes and don't eat."

Scowling Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away, Sakura latching onto his arm. (Or trying to…)

As Naruto got up, Itachi stopped him by drawing out his kunai- his ebony eyes closed, giving him the impression that he was thinking.

"Eh? What the hell?!" The blonde leapt backwards as Itachi suddenly attacked him.

The full-fledged sharingan stared into his eyes as Itachi spoke in a dangerous tone, "I never said you were dismissed… Itoko."

"Kuso! What the hell are you doing?!" Naruto crossed his arms as he blocked a punch, staggering forwards as Itachi suddenly kicked from the behind.

"…Show me Naruto-kun. Activating it alone isn't enough. Prove to me that you are worthy of carrying the Uchiha blood." Itachi disappeared and reappeared to the left of Naruto to attack him again.

Naruto gritted his teeth as Itachi smirked at him again. _Kuso! He's just toying with me… Damn bastard! I'll show him… Kuso!_

The blonde haired shinobi was pitched forwards, teetering dangerously against the edge. "A-a-ahhhhhh!!!" His arms twirled around as he fought against gravity. "Whew… Safe." Naruto wiped the sweat off his forehead as he glared at Itachi, clenching his fists again.

_This guy… he's… _Naruto back flipped to avoid Itachi's foot, twisting around in midair only to have his stomach grazed. _Too much for me! What do I do?_

"Kage- Oomph!" Naruto was thrown backwards as Itachi lowered his hand.

"I don't want to see your kage bunshin. Naruto-kun… is this all you have? If it is, then someone like you will never become Hokage, let alone surpass them!" Itachi gruffly said as he easily blocked Naruto's punch.

Gritting his teeth Naruto closed his eyes as he concentrated. _Focus… focus…_

(Flashback)

"In order for you to activate your sharingan, you have to focus your chakra to your eyes. It's rather a simple process if you think about it." Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector and his lone sharingan eye seemed to have a life of its own as he stared at Naruto.

"Nee, is that it? Ha! I have the sharingan mastered in no time! Sharingan!" Naruto yelled as he opened his eyes as wide as he could. "Sharingan!"

They were still as blue as the sky.

"Sharingan!" Naruto tried again as he fell over from staining too hard. "Itai…" He moaned as he nursed his newly acquired bump.

_Maybe… it was a fluke the first time… knowing Naruto, I wouldn't be surprised…_ Kakashi sighed, pulling down his hitai-ate. _Maa, this might take a while… _The silver haired ninja sat against the tree and pulled out his infamous orange book.

"Sharingan! Kuso! Work damn it!" Naruto stomped his feet, turning around to Kakashi. "Nee, nee sensei… I think it's broken!"

"Naruto…" Kakashi drawled as he momentarily looked up from his reading. "Baka yaro!" He then resumed turning the pages, pretending not to hear the blonde at all.

"WHAT!!!" Naruto yelped as he jumped up and down impatiently. "KAKASHI-SENSEI!!!! I… I HATE YOU!!!"

(End flashback)

_Focus… Focus the chakra to your eyes…_

"Sharingan!" Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped open; this time… they mirrored Itachi's, though not fully yet developed.

The smirk on Itachi's face was more then enough to show that he was pleased. "Good, Itoko… now the real training begins."

"Ha! I dare you. I'll take whatever you'll dish out and more! Kage bunshin!" Naruto's hands formed the necessary handseals as he rushed at Itachi.

"Hn…" Itachi weaved through the mass numbers of the shadow doppelgangers, destroying each one as he passed them. "You disappoint me. I would have expected something better from the legacy of the fourth."

"Kuso! Eat this then! Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" The fire based jutsu exploded out of Naruto's mouth as it consumed Itachi. Just as quickly as he activated the technique, he canceled the jutsu as he started to panic. "Oh shit! I-I-Itachi-s-s-sensei! Are you ok? S-s-sensei!"

Indeed, the charbroiled figure of the Uchiha Itachi laid motionless of the floor, smoke even coming off the corpse.

Just as Naruto was about to burst into tears, the figure dispelled in a cloud of smoke. He waved his hand around to clear the smoke.

"Ch, do you really underestimate me that much… Naruto-kun?" Itachi looked down at the babbling blonde below, scoffing at the fact that he could be even hurt by such a simple jutsu.

Jumping off, Itachi landed next to the loud-mouthed shinobi falling; again into a fighting stance.

"Heh, I was holding back the whole time. Now I don't have to worry about hurting you too much… Haaaa!" Naruto drew back his arm so that he was able to punch him, smirking as he suddenly kicked Itachi.

Sliding backwards, Naruto crouched down and gathered chakra into his feet as he jumped up. "Don't ever disrespect me! Kage bunshin! All right!" He yelled as crossed his index fingers to form the handseal for his trademark jutsu.

_Nani… he's…_ Itachi ducked as Naruto's foot narrowly missed its target. _Suddenly… improved… _

"Take this!" Naruto's mouth curled into a snarl as he held up a kunai knife. The explosion of smoke consumed the whole building top.


	6. A little out of the ordinary

Yo. I know that I haven't updated for a long while . . . I suppose that I can't say that I got lost on the road of life?

Heh… heh…

Anyways I'm trying to fix up the former chapters for mistakes, plot holes, and such and such. If you noticed, I've redone a few chapters, and the Yondaime no longer is OOC. Thank god that the Naruto chapters had a flashback with the whole 'how Kakashi got his Sharingan eye' thing.

Any suggestions on how Sasuke's gonna turn out later on the Chuunin exams? Should he go to Orochimaru or should he do something crazy like massacring the Uchiha clan and running off to join the Akatsuki? (Whoops, wrong character… )

Seriously, without a problem or villain this story isn't going to go far… I need some bad guys… and Orochimaru isn't just going to cut it. Since Sasuke's family wasn't killed off, his mental stability is quite fine and everyone loves little Sasuke. (Think fuzzy pink bunnies and a rainbow…)

Gah! See where my problem is? If you have any ideas, even if they sound far-fetched and stupid, give me an e-mail or review.

Later.

- - -

Trying not to act like a spoiled child when the dark haired jounin easily manhandled him, meaning that he was spinning around in circles as the Uchiha easily maneuvered around him; brushing away his taijutsu attacks with ease that could only come form a veteran.

The genin panted for breath as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with his dirtied sleeve. Squinting at his sensei, Naruto carefully analyzed his situation; any idiot could tell that he was easily outclassed by tenfold. He would need to come up with something brilliant, something that only _he_ could think of . . . something Sakura-chan would probably call . . . a Naruto-ish plan.

Feeling for the limited amount of arsenals inside his weapons pouch, he roughly estimated that he had roughly about twenty or so more shrunken and kunai left all together. His knowledge of jutsu's wasn't that impressive, but he would have to manage somehow . . . he always had.

Jumping into the air, he yelled, "Kage Bunshin!" Quickly forming the necessary handseals, he made twenty copies of himself; all had their fists drawn as far back as possible.

"Take this you bastard!" All twenty yelled at the same time.

Time seemed to freeze; suddenly the shadow doppelgangers disappeared in smoke. The real Naruto was thrown backwards, the wind knocked out of his lungs. _Itai . . . _he winced, face taut with exhaustion and pain. _I couldn't even see him move! Is he even human?_

The building top sported some property damage, deep cracks like spider webs in the terracotta, but otherwise nothing was totally demolished. Itachi frowned disapprovingly at the Yondaime's legacy.

"Itoko, can you even consider yourself worthy to carry the noble blood of the Uchiha? Even Sasuke can fare better then this. Are you . . ." he smirked at the blank look on Naruto's face. "Nothing but a coward?"

"Damn no!" Naruto staggered to his feet, wobbling unsteadily as he drew out his kunai. "The hell that Sasuke-bastard'll be better then me! I'm a thousand times stronger than he'll ever be!"

Drawing out his weapon, the blonde again rushed at Itachi, yelling for all he had worth. "KYYYAAA! Take this, teme!" Red sharingan eyes suddenly widened in pain as a strangled gasp wretched from the blonde's throat. Naruto felt the wind being knocked out of his lungs as a fist buried into his stomach.

The dark-haired Uchiha prodigy removed his hand from Naruto, as he watched the boy slump over in hurt. He merely raised an eyebrow when the genin managed to wheeze intolerable curses. However, his guard slightly wavered when the boy renounced himself unconscious.

Slumped over, the blonde didn't move, even as Itachi came closer. His pale face showed no emotion; a blank mask of the ANBU. ". . . So is this how it will end, Itoko?" The older ninja's deep voice asked, even though he knew that the boy would not answer.

Seconds ticked by, silence deafened his ears as the former ANBU captain stood absolutely still. His body still crouched in a fighting stance, Itachi had been through numerous battles- instinct told him that there was still fight left in the genin.

True to his intuition, Naruto's head suddenly snapped up as his hand suddenly whipped out from his side and threw a kunai at the dark haired Uchiha, lips bared back into a feral grin. "Take this!"

Itachi looked bored as he easily caught the dangerous projectile with his index finger and thumb. However, he noticed the explosive note cleverly attached to the handle a little too late as Naruto eerily had the same smirk plastered to his face as Itachi did moments before.

The Uchiha's eyes widened as the note sparked to life by a tiny flame; within a second, the weapon had exploded into a thick cloud of smoke that obscured the air. Naruto pumped chakra to his legs, sending himself airborne ten feet up and out of the hazy mist of explosives. He landed with the accuracy of a cat onto a perch, grinning widely.

"Heh. . . bang!" The blonde grinned cockily as he turned his head to his handiwork. Not that he could see it anyways. Suddenly a chill ran down his spine as he realized that he had something was gently brushing against his neck . . . the cool touch of a metal edge.

"Naruto-kun," Itachi's monotone voice silkily whispered into his ear as he held up a kunai to the blonde's throat. "You are dead."

The said so ninja's brain struggled to register what had just happened. Since when did Itachi manage to get behind him? He was positive that he had. . . _son of a bitch!_ His own prized technique used against him!

A kage bunshin was merely a distraction while the original had the explosion to easily mask his presence and sneak up behind him. It was merely child's play to simply use kawarimi no jutsu and time it just so that . . .

Damn it!

Sweat dripped down his forehead as he felt the cold blade press gently into his skin, daring not to breathe for fear of impaling himself. Irregular heartbeats thumped against his chest, as the thick smoke cloud slowly blew away.

"K-ku-kuso. . . " he hissed, sharingan fading into blue. He allowed himself to go limp as the stubborn ninja realized that it was no use. It was checkmate clear through. "Heh, now what?" he closed his eyes, smirking slightly.

". . ." Itachi was silent as he gripped the kunai tighter in his hand.

"Well? Finish it!" Blue orbs filled with intensity snapped open. "I don't care if you're a thousand times stronger, but if you let me go, I swear on the name Hokage that I'll one day come back and kick your ass!"

"Really? That's very amusing Itoko." Itachi let his lips curl into a smug smile. "I would want to see that day." The two stood still for several minutes, an unnatural wind playfully scattered leaves across the rooftop.

The Uchiha released Naruto, immutable eyes stonily gazed at him. "This is all for today. Do not expect me to play favorites between you or my foolish little brother."

The Uchiha prodigy silently disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Naruto to register what just had happened. Gritting his teeth together, the blonde viciously dug his fingernails into his palm. _Damn! He just acted like I was nothing; a little whiny wannabe ninja! Was he that strong? He was on a whole different level then me. . . _

The blonde crossed his arms and pursed his lips together, even though the boy had _tried_ to look serious, the comical look of intense concentration was all the more hilarious.

_Nee, everything's sure is weird here. Kakashi-sensei back home would never have a one on one sparring with me. . . and even a relative's of Sasuke. . . if he has any. . . back with Kakashi-sensei and everyone. . . _Perspiration dripped down his face as he scrunched his mouth into a frown, shutting his eyes as well.

_It's like everyone here is almost forced to like me! But ano sa. . . _A look of sadness crossed Naruto's face. However, his train of thought vanished, as a very familiar voice called out his name in an obnoxious tone.

"Honored and revered child of the Hokage! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Eh?" Naruto cocked his head to the side, his mouth dropping down to the point where if it could, would have gone through the terra cotta tiled roof. "C-closet pervert!"

"N-nani!" Ebisu stuttered as he readjusted his glasses, so that Naruto's reflection stared with a gaping mouth back at him. "Ahem. Naruto-sama, I do not know what you mean. However, your training! When you had not shown up, I grew worried. The shortest path to Hokage is through me, you must remember that."

Getting a feeling of nostalgia, Naruto underwent the oddest sense of déjà vu. Really, he could sympathize with Konohamaru now. The little kid had to deal with this lout all the time! Rolling his eyes, he crossed his fingers as he yelled, "Harem no jutsu!"

". . ." Ebisu's glasses slightly lowered so that his bulging eyes gawked at the very. . . intriguing sight of twenty so _naked _ and _beautiful_ blonde girls cooing and winking very seductively at the jounin.

The reaction was well . . . a massive nosebleed propelled him backward, and of course right off the roof and a painful crash resulted in the canceling of the jutsu. As the last bit of the smoke that was released from the jutsu cleared away, Naruto peered cautiously over the edge.

Ebisu was . . . not going to be able to move anytime soon. A fine imprint of his body was deeply imprinted onto the ground below, a hand reached for some sort of help from the hole.

Sighing, the blonde decided to show some mercy and jumped down. "Jeeze, how perverted can you get? Even here, you're a big closet hentai," he grumbled, crouching down so that he was able to reach for the jounin.

After pulling Ebisu out, and getting lectured on how moral ninjas should _never_ perform such unsightly jutsus, the jounin frog-marched Naruto to the hot springs, snarling angrily every time the boy had tried to slip away unnoticed. As soon as they had arrived, Ebisu had Naruto start walking on water- that was scalding hot.

The hot springs was most certainly one of the oddest places to train, however it's purpose quickly revealed itself in a form of scorching and wet manner.

Swearing and cursing, the blonde yelped in pain as he took another plunge. "Itai!" He jumped out of the water, splashing Ebisu as well in the process. Sitting uncomfortably on the edge of the bank, Naruto wringed out his shirt; skin lobster red.

Naruto hated this, everything about it. The stupid training, the stupid Ebisu pervert, the stupid everything!

"GAH!" He tugged at the locks of his blonde hair, venting his bottled up frustration as he pointed at Ebisu (Who was in fact displeased that he too got wet). "Just why the hell do I have to do this! It's pointless and dumb! Just see if I stick around, baka closet pervert!" He immaturely stuck out his tongue as pulled on his still wet shirt over his head.

"But . . . Naruto-sama!" Ebisu spluttered haplessly; his protests falling on deaf ears. "What about your dream? The quickest way to become Hokage-"

"Hokage? If being Hokage is all about who can get there the fastest, then you've got it dead wrong. It's about the title of respect that you have to earn from the village, a symbol that you've worked your ass off for that job," Naruto said, squinting his eyes at the special jounin.

"Naruto-sama! You've got it all wrong! I'm here to guide you through the perils of life, your mentor through any trouble!" Ebisu argued, his sunglasses now crookedly hung off the bridge of his nose as his volume steadily rose- drawing unwanted attention from the other bathers.

"Maa, you sure do like to talk don't you?" Naruto straightened up, adjusting his forehead protector- letting the sunlight catch off the metal surface. "For a guy who claims that he knows everything, you sure are clueless."

" . . . "

"Becoming Hokage is a commitment, cause everybody has to respect the name. Tch, but then again," Naruto snorted. "What can a suck-up like you would ever know? There are no short cuts in life!"

With that, Naruto walked away, his zori squelching every time he stepped with his left foot. "Hey closet pervert, you're out of a job. Why don't you train Konohamaru instead?" he said in a cheerful voice without looking back. "Later!"

"Naruto-sama…" Ebisu was at a loss for words. _You . . . have suddenly matured! I knew that under my great tutelage that you would grow into a fine shinobi!_ He pushed his round sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, comical tears running down his face.

He watched the retreating backside of Naruto fade away into the sunset, his body bathed in gold's and red. The sky was painted of the dancing fire, and royal purple drew its line across the horizon.

The storybook setting suddenly crashed with a horrible screeching of a broken record. A woman's scream of, "GAH! A PERVERT! RUN!" and anguished cries of, "NO! COME BACK MY PRETTY LITTLE GIRLS!" along with a distant rumbling shook the small hot spring resort.

The distant rumbling turned into a loud roar: a hoard of women wrapped around in towels and bikinis stampeded over poor Ebisu, bare feet and sandals squishing his face.

Thud!

Thwack!

Stomp!

"Itai. . ." Ebisu removed a high-heeled shoe from his face, a fine footprint smashed his nose.

"Ahhh! My research! My inspiration! My will to live! NO! Come back!" An old man wheezed, running after the women. Definitely a pervert. . . and an old one at that too.

Scrunch!

His body was paralyzed with pain, his arm involuntary twitched spasmodically. The old man's footprint smashed his face in, Ebisu's glasses swinging back and fro from only one ear. He definitely needed a new job . . . seriously he did.

- - -

"Naruto-kun, you're late! I was so worried!" Sakura exclaimed, her face puckered into a frown. **Naruto-kkkkuuuunnnn! I missed you so much!** Her pink hair blew into her emerald eyes as she brushed them back shyly with her hand.

"Ch, as usual," Sasuke had his hands in his pockets, looking bored as usual. "We've been waiting for an hour now. Ahou. . ."

"Wha-what'd you just say! Come here so I can kick your stupid ass!" Naruto's eyes turned into saucers as he rolled up his sleeves. Shoving himself into Sasuke's face, he snarled angrily, as the other boy snorted in irritation.

"Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun! Don't fight with each other . . ." Sakura protested, nervously biting her lower lip. Should she help Sasuke-kun, or should she support Naruto-kun? Oh the decisions! The pink-haired girl didn't know what to do, torn up her affection for both.

"It's no use Haruno. Even if you do separate them, they'll start fighting again," Itachi quietly said from behind her, causing the girl to jump three feet into the air. He smirked, continuing in that same flat tone, "Since Naruto-kun was so nice to show up; we can begin now."

As if by some Uchiha magic, the two stopped bickering. However, looks of heated frustration and childish resentment were shot back and forth faster then a kunai. Naruto muttered incomprehensive things lost within his mumbling, as Sasuke did the same.

"Sasuke-bastard. . ."

"Dumbass. . ."

Ignoring the two, Itachi set a small alarm clock on a stump, setting the time for noon. Naruto instantly recognized the clock- it was his own! "Ano sa, Itachi-sensei! Isn't that mine? . . . It's YOUR fault that I'm late! You swiped MY alarm clock!" His voice reached volumes that had never been heard before, the genin's face purpling.

"Baka. . . Who cares? A ninja shouldn't even have to use that," Sasuke scornfully looked into Naruto's blue eyes, his lips twitching into a frown. "I can't believe that I'm even related to you. . ."

"SHUT UP!"

"The test will begin on the count of three," Itachi cut in, pulling out a kunai as he played with the sharp object- tossing it up and down while twirling it around his fingers. "The goal is to get this from me." The oldest Uchiha patted his jounin pocket flask, which jingled lightly. No doubt was to what was inside.

"Hah! This'll be a piece of cake!" Naruto laughed, inside he was mentally dancing the Congo to a victory tune. Bells and a survival test. He already knew the 'underneath the underneath.' All he had to do was grab that Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan, whip up a plan and even if they fail- they still pass for teamwork they demonstrated.

"And also from each other. You all need a total of two to pass. There are four of us, each with a single bell. So in the end, even if you manage to steal mine from me there is going to be one who will fail." Itachi casually tossed each genin a bell with a flip of his wrist.

"SAY WHAT!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping out of his mental victory dance. "Y-you mean we have to get TWO bells? But t-that's not fair! Itachi-sensei, you cheater!"

Raising a delicate eyebrow, the dark haired jounin shrugged nonchalantly. His bored air around him suggested that he really didn't care if Naruto died of a heart attack right in front of him. "The ones who fail end up back at the academy and also gets tied to a log while we eat lunch."

_Ok Naruto… calm down… it's still probably another way of testing our teamwork…_ The blonde thought to himself, grinning weakly as he started to sweat. _Ok, what did Kakashi-sensei say last time? Ninja who don't follow the rules are trash, and those who don't care for their comrades are worse then that… Blah, blah… Man I really wished that I paid closer attention to his lectures… _

"Ch," Sasuke scoffed as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Hey, moron . . . you'd better watch out." He addressed the pale Naruto with little interest, letting his challenge hang in the air.

Too bad Naruto was having something close to hysterics to listen.

_Naruto-kun. . . Sasuke-kun. . . What will I do? Either way I loose one of them!_ Sakura grimly tensed, her emerald eyes blazing with what Gai would have declared as: 'The Flames of Youth!' **I will not loose here! It's a true test of love!** Inner Sakura roared from within the depths of her mind.

"On the count of three. . ." Itachi drawled lazily, holding up his fingers. "One . . ." He lowered his finger slowly. "Two . . . "

The three genin all visibly tensed.

"Three!"

And the survival exams begins with an explosive start as four shadows flashed into the forest field.

- - - -

Naruto: Gyyah! What the hell! I thought this was supposed to be a cakewalk! Stupid Sasuke, quit showing off! How'd the hell are we supposed to pass as a team when it's 100 guarantee that one of us will fail! Wait! Are you saying that this test isn't about teamwork? Then what is it!

Next time on _A Different Path Given_: Trials of a ninja!


	7. Trials of a Ninja

Sorry for not updating for a long time. I was kind of really sick and went to the Emergency Room a few weeks ago and I've been resting since. XD

Um, updates will be slow from this point on, but I'll do my best. Happy new year everyone!

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. Now I've made myself sad.

- - - -

Naruto grimly jumped through the trees, an intense look of concentration locked his face into a serious frown. This wasn't supposed to happen at all! They were supposed to work as a team to get the bells from the sensei and ba-boom! Instant promotion to genin level. With the new twist that Itachi had added, teamwork was not possible. In the end, one of them was going to fail no matter what.

No matter at what angle Naruto had tried to approach this aspect from; he met a dead end. If he got only one of his teammates to help him, the other would fail and there was no way the three-man team would pass with only two members active.

However, without backup, there was no way he would be able to get the bells alone from Itachi. He alone could pass by snitching one from Sasuke or Sakura, but what good would that do?

_Calm down . . . first find Sakura-chan and Sasuke. . . then come up with a plan. . . together. Ninja who don't help their comrades are worse then trash . . . _The blonde's eyes narrowed as he strained to hear anything that would signify his team's presence.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Sasuke suddenly yelled as he ambushed the blonde, spiting out fire from his mouth. The Uchiha cursed as the target Naruto had been replaced with a log and smoke. "Damn! Where is he now?" Dark eyes darted around his surroundings, his body tense with anticipation.

Naruto leapt out of his hiding place and punched his cousin as he snarled, "Just what the HELL are you thinking, bastard!" He watched Sasuke wipe the blood that trickled down his chin with he back of his hand. "You think that taking my bell's gonna pass all of us as a frick'n TEAM! You dumbass!"

Sasuke bristled in anger as he charged Naruto retorting, "I said I was going after you, dobe!" The dark-haired teen ducked and sharply kicked Naruto backwards, leaping into the air once more. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" Shots of fire missed their mark as Naruto crossed his index fingers together and performed his trademark technique.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Multiple copies of himself tackled the dark-haired teen, only to be blown back with a series of taijutsu combo's that Naruto had never even seen before. As much as he hated to admit it, Taijutsu wasn't exactly his area of forte.

"Hn. . ." Apparently smugness was a generic trait shared by both Uchiha siblings as Sasuke haughtily smirked to himself. "You still are weaker then me . . . Baka . . . Just give up and. . ."

"Never!" Naruto's eyes ablaze with determination glared angrily into a pool of black. "I will never give up! If you want to pass this exam so badly, then you'll have to pry this bell out of my fingers, bastard!" Holding up a kunai, the blonde let the cool metal surface reflect both of their reflections- endless blue met dark onyx.

Within the clearing, a whirl of heated emotions clashed like a thunderstorm. Neither of the two was willing to give in. Naruto gripped his weapon tighter, as Sasuke shifted restlessly.

The dark haired ninja fidgeted anxiously, beating the crap out of Naruto was too much trouble. He would probably have to go trough hell to finally stop the other boy dead in his tracks, and even then the number one surprising ninja in the village would have something planned out for him. It was something that he didn't have the time for. He carefully weighed out the possibilities, eventually decided that some sacrifices were worth it.

"Feh, who'd want to beat up someone like you? You're too pathetic- I'm going after Aniki. . ." Sasuke snorted, straightening his back. His pale features twisted into a smirk, as he walked off into the brush. The blonde bristled in anger, although he did not rise to the challenge.

"BASTARD! HOPE ITACHI GIVES YOU THE THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN NO JUTSU INSTEAD!" Naruto yelled after the retreating back of his cousin, giving him the finger. In his disgust, he threw his kunai into a tree- the blade buried deep into the wood.

Oh how he hated Sasuke more then anything! That stupid smug jerk was spoiled rotten . . . _Damn! Damn. . . DAMN!_ Naruto desperately wanted to wring that stuck-up prick's neck tighter and tighter until. . .

"Naruto-kun! I've found you!" Sakura stumbled from the brush, interrupting the blonde's violent and bloody thoughts of revenge. "Did you see Sasuke-kun anywhere?" She tucked back the loose strands of hair back, feeling very awkward all of the sudden as she was interested in the forest ground.

"Etto. . . Hey Sakura-chan. . ." Naruto's cheeks heated up as he fiddled around with his fingers. "How do you know that I won't try and steal your bell? And what if I was Itachi-sensei in disguise?" He asked as he grinned wryly at her.

A look of panic and surprise flashed across the young girl's face as her emerald eyes hardened slightly at the possibility. Thinking very carefully, she drew out her Kunai. "If you really are Naruto-kun, then prove it!"

"WHAT! Doesn't Sakura-chan trust me?" Naruto sounded hurt, as he pouted by crossing his arms. Mulling over what would prove his innocence, his blue eyes lit up brilliantly. "Ah ha! I've got it! Um, when we were taking the Henge no jutsu test, I turned into this really sexy and naked blonde chick!" He announced proudly, not noticing the look of horror that the Haruno girl made.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Sakura screeched, her face reddening. **Damn! All the cute ones are always perverted! Gah! What if Sasuke-kun's the same!** Inner Sakura cried out in despair, holding a tissue to her nose.

Taking her reaction as one of disbelief, Naruto sighed. "Ok, if you really need convincing… Behold! SEXY NO JUTSU!" The smoke cleared away slowly; as the name suggested. . .

Sakura's jaw dropped, her eyes turning into giant angry whites. "NA-RU-TO!" She grated out his name through her teeth, knuckles cracking from the strain from clenched fists. "HOW DARE YOU DO THAT IN FRONT OF A REAL LADY!"

Dropping the jutsu, Naruto decided that he had convinced her enough and started to sweat. Angry Sakura was scary. . . That he decided the instant he saw flames shoot up from the peaceful forest scene. "Heh. . . Sa-Sakura-chan. . . Calm down. . .dattebayo. . ." He stuttered, backing away very quickly.

"I won't forgive you Naruto-kun. . ." Her voice sounded bloodcurdling, as she loomed over the blonde by tenfold. Her smile was strained, as veins popped out from her enormous forehead- making her really look like some sort of horror from a children's fairy tale.

"GGGYYYYAAAAAHHHH!" Naruto's tormented cry pitched to a high manly scream- causing several of the resident birds to take flight. The birds cawed and chirped in panic as they flew off to a quieter and safer region.

- - - -

Nursing the giant bump on his head, the Uzumaki boy whimpered pathetically in front of Sakura. From his agonized wails of pain, he sounded like he was dying from a fatal wound to the skull. "That really hurt!" he pined, earning himself another whack from Sakura.

"Hush! Do you really want Itachi-sensei to find us?" She hissed, chewing her lower lip with worry. "But I know that Naruto-kun can win!" Her helpful comment made Naruto's stomach flop over; he remembered yesterday all too well.

Managing his infamous grin, he beamed at the girl. "Of course! I swear, I'll protect you Sakura-chan!" Still keeping that smile plastered on, he started to fidget uncomfortably. He started to twitch, then shake, and then move around uneasily around his small hiding hole.

_Oh man, oh man. . . What am I going to do? There's no way that I can keep my word!_ The blue eyed ninja would had banged his head against the tree to his left if not of the fact that the kunoichi was in the way. _If we fight against Itachi-sensei. . . Were all going to die! NO! Calm down. . ._

Naruto shook his head to clear his ranting. Putting a bold face on, his lips stretched into a nervous smile as Sakura gave him a puzzling look. _I will not lose here! Even if I get my ass handed back to me on a royal platter- I'll still protect Sakura-chan no matter what!_ He silently declared, a bead of sweat rolling down his whisker-like markings.

With a shaky voice, he forced himself to talk. "Sakura-chan, we'd better get moving. Let's try to find Sasuke and then maybe try attacking Itachi-sensei together… You know, as a team!" He suggested hopefully, still hoping that Sasuke no longer was holding yet another grudge against him.

"That's a great idea, Naruto-kun! I can't- Watch out!" Sakura screamed, as the blonde instinctively pushed her aside and crossed his forearms together- Kunai and shuriken whistled through the air and imbedded themselves into flesh. The girl watched in horror as blood seeped down from the wounds, Naruto harshly pulling the weapons out.

"Sakura-chan, you all right?" Naruto gave her a wry grin, his hard blue eyes narrowing into angry slits. "I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE, SO COME OUT! ITACHI-SENSEI!" The genin hollered into the forest, not at all surprised when the Uchiha walked out from the shadows, silently applauding.

"Well now, where's my foolish little brother? Is he not with you as well?" Itachi coolly eyed his students, smirking at his cousin and the trembling girl behind her. He took another menacing step forward, leering above the two ninjas. "Baka Itoko. Do you really think that you have all this figured out? Teamwork?"

"What do you mean? Isn't that the whole point of this exercise?" Naruto asked, biting his lower lip in worry. It didn't make any sense! Itachi-sensei would purposely cause a conflict within the group so that they would fight with each other and hopefully later on realize that there's no way a genin can keep up with a jounin- so they turn to each other for help. That's the reason for the bells. . .

Itachi gave a callous laugh, highly amused with this situation. "I'll tell you this much: The point of this exercise doesn't have to do with teamwork. So now what will you do? The enemy has you cornered; already you've broken the number important rule in fighting."

Without even turning his head, Itachi easily caught the number of Shuriken and Kunai with his fingers. Looking bored now, the shinobi prodigy pocketed the weapons and drawled lazily, "I was wondering when you will show up, foolish bother. . ."

"No! Sasuke-kun! Stay away!" Sakura screamed, tears forming in her emerald green orbs. Pangs of despair worried her, sapping her strength as the girl slumped to her knees. Oh god! They were all going to die. . . It was all over. . .

Hissing angrily, the Uchiha boy flipped forwards and landed between Sakura and Naruto. "What the hell are you two doing? Get out of here!" Sasuke roughly shoved the pink haired girl into Naruto's arms and carefully considered his options. Damn, things weren't looking good for him: he had been hoping to use the element of surprise but now that's been ruined, he had no choice but to fight him head on.

Naruto glared at Sasuke before quickly making his decision. Grabbing the enormous collar of the Uchiha's shirt and taking Sakura-chan by her arm, he dragged his two teammates out of the clearing- Sasuke swearing profanities and Sakura shrieking.

"You moron! What are you doing!" Snarled Sasuke, twisting his neck around to give the blonde his patented Uchiha glare.

Snorting, the Uzumaki ran through the trees and made extra sure to drag Sasuke through several bushes. "Saving your ass, that's what. You think that you stand a chance against him?" Naruto ducked under a tree branch, weaving his way through the woods. He tried not to wince when Sakura screeched 'NARUTO-KUN! SASUKE-KUN!'

"Shut up. You're annoying," Sasuke growled morbidly, crossing his arms together stubbornly. "Do you really want the sensei finding us?" He irately scowled, forgetting exactly how sensitive Sakura was, especially around himself. His stoic expression softened when the girl gave him a tearful look and the Uchiha boy avoided her near crying gaze by deliberately fixing his attention elsewhere.

Naruto threw Sasuke down and gently set Sakura to her feet, giving her a heartwarming grin. "Don't worry, things will work out all right! Cause you have me and that bastard over there to protect you, isn't that right Sasuke?" Sasuke snorted, and Naruto took that as an agreement. "Great! Now, the next time Itachi-sensei comes around we can just kick his ass!" He excitedly jumped up and down, the eager look on his face all the more made Sasuke irritated.

Hitting Naruto on the head, Sasuke glared- hoping that his Uchiha bloodline had more then just copying (AKA he wanted to have heat beam laser eyes to destroy this annoying thing called 'cousin')- and nonchalantly said, "Idiot. And just how do you propose to do that? Did your amnesia really kick in at the wrong time?"

"SSSSAAASSSUUUKKKEEE!" Naruto half whined, drawing out the name as long as possible. The impatient blonde pulled at the tuffs of his hair, having a near heart attack. Words failed him as he struggled to express his frustration at the seriousness of the situation that nether of his teammate were taking him very sincerely.

The dark haired ninja decided to have some pity on the blonde and squatted down- using a kunai to point out bits and pieces of his plan that he carefully thought up of. "Naruto, you can distract Itachi-sensei while I try to hold him down. . . That leaves Sakura to go in and take his bell. We'll decide who gets it afterwards. . ." He trailed off, leaving the ominous sentence hang over their heads.

"ROGER!"

Sakura nodded her head, still upset that her Sasuke-kun snapped back at her but determined to make things all right between the two. "I understand Sasuke-kun!"

"Right. We only have so much time left. There is no room for any _mistakes_!" Sasuke stressed the word 'mistake', his sharp obsidian eyes holding Naruto's endless blue orbs. He was obvious to who would most likely screw up.

Making the 'V' sign for victory, Naruto gave Sasuke the biggest and cheesiest fox like smile he could. "Don't worry about me! After all, I AM the great Uzumaki Naruto-sama, the next Hokage of Konoha. . ."

The Uchiha rolled his eyes before darting off into the woods, Sakura following not too far behind him. His cousin was getting so annoying! Sometimes he just couldn't figure out how the hell they were related! Half the time, he just wished that he was adopted or something near the lines of that!

"Right, a distraction. . ." Naruto's creative mind was a work, his eyes lighting up as he chuckled evilly. If he were betting everything he had, Itachi-sensei would have NEVER seen or even remotely heard such profanity before. . . The boy stored a mental note to thank Kakashi-sensei who had graciously stopped by his house earlier in the day and Naruto took the opportunity to snitch his dirty book while the copy nin was distracted with his father.

Leaping through the trees, Naruto quickly located the elder Uchiha and bellowed, "ITACHI-SENSEI! I'VE FOUND YOU!" The orange clad blonde landed just a few yards away from the jounin and opened the dirty book and began to read, not noticing that his teammates who were hidden away had horrified looks on their faces.

"And Emiko laughed as Daisuke dangerously whispered into her ear. He caught her and swept her to their bed, then proceeded to. . . WHAT THE HELL? AAAHHHHH! MY EYES! WHAT KIND OF JACKASS WOULD READ THIS STUPID THING!" Naruto all but screamed, throwing the nasty book away and frantically rubbing his eyes as if it would clear all bad mental images in his mind. The words seared themselves into his brain, the sentences dancing in head creating an unwanted picture.

Too bad Itachi wasn't your average hormone driven teenager and stoically raised a delicate eyebrow as he watched Naruto dancing in his place. He seemed unfazed, but if one looked closely- his cheeks had more color then usual. "I never knew you liked those books, Itoko. . ." Itachi coolly replied, smirking slightly.

"I DON'T!" Naruto roared, throwing his shuriken at Itachi and charging after the Uchiha. "DAMN IT! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THAT DAMN KAKASHI-SENSEI, I'M GONNA WRING HIS STUPID PERVERTED NECK AND. . . I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" He declared, jumping up to deliver a kick, which was all too easily blocked by the shinobi genius. Flipping backwards, Naruto's hands flashed through the handseals and breathed fire. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Itachi countered with his own Katon, although this was what Naruto was hoping for. Sasuke seeing this chance left his hiding spot and leapt upon his brother who somehow foresaw his attack and sidestepped neatly. The blonde canceled his fire technique and lunged forward, hoping to stop the older Uchiha before he mauled Sasuke.

"Kuso!" Sasuke swore, twisting in midair to avoid being punched; however Itachi with astonishing speed jumped up and kicked him clear across the clearing, the Uchiha boy painfully clutched his stomach and glared across at his older brother. "Sakura!" He yelled, standing up on shaky legs. Damn, it smarted real bad!

The pink haired girl had successfully sneaked behind the jounin without him noticing, until his hand suddenly whipped around and hurtfully gripped her wrist so tightly that she was so sure that her bones creaked. "Itai!"

"Haruno. . ." Itachi's deep voice mocked her; slightly amused at the girl's dreadfully obvious attempts to creep around- the girl breathed too loud and her footsteps were far too heavy- as the ANBU captain addressed his other students. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke. . . both of you have greatly disappointed me. I expected more then this! What if this was a real battle? Haruno here would be dead and it would all be your fault."

Naruto's body started to shake, trembling with anger and fear mixed into one high adrenaline rush. His blonde hair shadowed his stormy eyes, his lips curling into a contemptuous snarl.

"Naruto-kun!"

"Idiot!"

The blonde rushed Itachi with a burst of erratic chakra, tackling headfirst into Sakura and the elder Uchiha. The boy knocked away Itachi's grip and at the same time, pushed Sakura safely away into Sasuke's general direction, praying that the stupid prick would actually have enough sense to catch her. Rolling on the ground until he slowed to a stop, Naruto staggered to his feet, weakly grinning at his teacher.

Itachi, who calmly dusted himself and acted as if nothing had happened, raised a delicate eyebrow at his cousin. His dark eyes carefully taking in every detail of the scenario while his mind puzzled over this new turn of events. A small spark of hope flickered to life within him- maybe they could figure out the secret behind the true meaning of his little examination.

Spitting blood out of his mouth, Naruto's tongue probed his numb gum where it was bleeding significantly. Wiping his chin, the blonde looked over his shoulder and said, "Sasuke, take Sakura out of here! I'll stay behind and buy you time! And don't you dare argue, you stupid prick or I'll kick your ass!"

Hesitating, Sasuke retorted, "You idiot! We don't have time!" The boy was slightly surprised when he caught a small object, without even opening his fist he knew that it was Naruto's own bell. Obviously the surprised look on his pale face made the blonde explain himself.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, held back by Sasuke.

"Just in case. . ." He brightly beamed at the Uchiha before turning to face Itachi with a grim look set on his face. "Now hurry up!" Naruto wiped the beads of sweat that perspired down his cheeks. The genin was slightly shocked when Itachi began to chuckle- hell, anything more then the usual Uchiha smirk from the clan genius was enough to send anyone in shock.

"Very good. I see that at least one of you have some brains. . . But then again, this test is coming to an end." Itachi said, the alarm clock ticking away. "Come, Naruto. Let's see how strong the son of the Hokage is." Bending down low, he raised his fists- the most basic of taijutsu stances, yet the easiest to adapt to any situation whether defense or offense.

"Kage Bunshin!" The blonde yelled, summoning shadow doppelgangers by the number and running dead on towards the Jounin. At the last possible second, Naruto leapt dramatically into the air while his clones surrounded the Uchiha elder. "U-ZU-MA-KI! Naruto Renden!" He furiously kicked down with all his chakra focused on his foot- the impact created a crater.

Landing neatly, he panted for breath. It seemed as if he were breathing through a straw- his sore lungs protesting for more oxygen. Suddenly, as if it was all at the same time, his Kage Bunshins exploded into smoke. Panicking, Naruto took a step back- a wrong move as he bumped into Itachi himself.

"Orokanaru Itoko. . ." The jounin chuckled darkly, his black eyes swirling into those familiar crimson red with the famed Uchiha commas. "You have little chakra left and time has run out. My foolish little brother and the Haruno girl have abandoned you. What will you do now?" He asked, his low voice almost purring into Naruto's ear.

Tensing, the blonde started to laugh. "Whatever loser. Thanks for falling in my trap!" Then it disappeared in a puff of smoke- another shadow replica! Tipped off by the bunshin, a barrage of weapons rained down from the treetops. At last, the real Naruto jumped down from the trees feeling slightly apprehensive.

"Hey! Itachi-sensei?" He yelled, cautiously just in case if the older teen had been speared by his weapons and somehow lived to tell the tale. It wouldn't surprise him if he did. Yet another of the Uchiha secrets- the undying ability to come back as a zombie and haunt you.

Too late. The alarm went off before anyone knew what was happening Naruto found himself tied to the log quicker then you could say 'Konoha village.' Much to his nervousness, there was a stump with an axe lodged deeply into the wood. Surely his slightly eccentric teacher/cousin wouldn't go as far to as killing them?

"Well, well. It seems that you three have failed my exam. What will we do now?"


	8. Clarifications

Okay, since Fanfiction screwed up the chapter order for my fic, I've been getting a lot of complaints. I'm sorry for the slight inconvenience but please give me some more credit! Someone mentioned that I have like five plotlines going on at once, and I think that if you go back and re-read it now since the story will probably make more sense.

This is A Different Path Given condensed version. If people are getting confused, then let me clarify what's going on so far:

**Chapter One: My Name is Uzumaki Naruto! **

Naruto is in the Forest of Death and Orochimaru shows up. The evil snake freak decides that he wants Sasuke's body and gives him a hickie instead. Orochimaru laughs his evil laugh and says, "Ha. Now Sasuke-kun will me mine. Too bad for you Naruto-kun. You are too late!"

Then he uses a Jutsu to send Naruto off to another world where Naruto will no longer be a problem. Poor Naru-chan, cause he has no clue what's going on. He blacks out and wakes up in a hospital where he freaks out.

ANBU come in, and Kakashi with his doggie mask helps Naruto back in bed. Takes off his mask and gives Naruto another heart attack- acts like he doesn't know what's going on with Naruto.

Forth Hokage comes in, acts fatherly and Naruto puts two and two together and he promptly faints. Poor Yondaime. . .

**Chapter Two: Missing? The Enemy Attacks!**

Naruto wakes up and decides that he wants to go missing. Too bad that he forgot to put on some real clothes so he just uses Henge on himself to fool everyone. Jumps out the window and falls flat on his face.

Meanwhile, Sasuke sits around and his brother comes and talks with him. Forget about everyone in the real Naruto Manga storyline for they are now not important until the end of the fic.

Naruto gets lost for a bit in Konoha until stupid Mizuki bumps into him while stealing the Forbidden Scroll. They fight and Mizuki since he in this world is nominated to take the Jonin tests is most likely to be on Jonin level and kicks Naruto's ass.

Daddy comes and saves him.

Chapter Three: Uchiha Truth 

Gasp. Yondaime dies! So Naruto freaks out and poof! Sharingan eyes. Kicks Mizuki's ass and finds out that Daddy's still alive. Hey, that all rhymes! LOL.

The next day, Naruto's walking around when he bumps into Sasuke. Our favorite Uchiha brings Naruto to his house where Naruto finds out that his mother was Sasuke's Aunt, therefore they are cousins and related by blood. Naruto has yet another heart attack.

Chapter Four: A Ninja's test 

Daddy wakes Naruto up and they are late for school! Gasp! Good thing Daddy's the Yellow Flash and Naruto shows up in time! He is chased around by his Fan Club and Sakura is infatuated with him!

"Yay! Iruka-sensei! I've passed the genin exams! Lets go out for ramen!"

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Poor Naruto sits on top of a hill when Itachi comes and cheers him up. They go home.

Chapter Five: Team Seven 

Kakashi makes another appearance and evil Orochimaru's plotting something. Daddy gets mad and then plots to counter Orochimaru's plotting. He sends Kakashi off to deliver scrolls to the other Kages to plan ahead when he could kick the Snake Bastard's ass.

Meanwhile at school, they get sorted into teams and Naruto gets placed in Team Seven. Itachi is their teacher and Sasuke acts like a brat. They do the whole introducing thing and get to know each other even though Itachi LIVES with Sasuke and Naruto is practically family.

He dismisses Sakura and Sasuke and orders Naruto to fight him. Naruto lets off a bomb on top of the roof and end the chapter in a cliffhanger.

Chapter Six: A Little Out of the Ordinary 

Itachi of course kicks Naruto's little butt and tells him that he's weak, etc. Discouraged, Naruto is found by Ebisu who is in fact, his personal tutor and drags him off to the hot springs.

Naruto talks all philosophical and says some sentimental crap about not taking any shortcuts and ditches Ebisu. Jiraiya makes an appearance and sets loose a mob of angry women on him.

Naruto makes his way to the team meeting spot where Itachi tells them of their team exam. There are four bells, where by the end of this exercise in order to pass you must have two bells. Therefore you have to steal each other's bell and one person will automatically fail.

Three. Two. One.

The exam starts.

Chapter Seven: Trials of a Ninja 

Naruto runs around and fights a lot. He thinks that he knows what's going on, but it turns out that none of Kakashi's underneath the underneath crap applies to this and is officially screwed.

The decides to be heroic and stays behind so that Sasuke and Sakura can escape. The exam ends with Naruto tied to a log- an axe impaled onto the closest stump next to him.

Uh oh. . .

That basically sums up my story so far, right? So all you people can get the facts straight and no more confusion. I don't want a mob of people reviewing saying that something missing or I'm not doing things right. Just wait it out and see how it turns out.

You guys wouldn't like it if I give it all away in one chapter, do you? Cause there's more then one reviewer bitch'n about how nothing makes any sense and that Naruto having the Sharingan is fucked up. Well then, quit reading my story and fuck'n write your own version!

Now I have finished my rant, updates will slow down from now on. However, I am willing to finish this story to the end WITH a sequel.


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